Shelved
by CandleHeadButt
Summary: Its been months since things have returned to normal in Sugar Rush but as Vanellope and Taffyta are to learn, there are some things that are going to take a lot more work to mend and to the President's annoyance, even she has no power over how some of the arcade characters view her friends.
1. Chapter 1-The Past Can Hurt

Chapter 1- The Past Can Hurt

"ITS AROUND GUMMY BEAR CANYON AND ONTO THE NEXT LAP!" yelled the overly excited Sugar Rush announcer as he watched the daily. Vanellope and Taffyta were neck and neck, as usual as they made the final miles to the finish line. Vanellope could hear the sweet calls of victory coming nearer but Taffyta had other plans.

"Okay, Ms. SCCCCHWEETZ!" Taffyta laughed as she eased up on the gas, surprisingly slowing down Pink Lighting "Let's see ya get outta this one!"

Vanellope made a quick glance towards her mirror, shocked to see that Taffyta was slowing down. She then smirked; that Taffy. It had to be a trick. It always was. Vanellope looked at her race gauge beside her, noticing she only had one more glitch star left before her kart couldn't take it anymore.

That was one of the disadvantages of glitching; while she could glitch herself and a person anywhere she wanted, her powers were a bit too much for some of the karts in Sugar Rush, especially when they were already under so much stress during the races. One too many glitches and boom! Something would come apart so Vanellope learned to time her powers just right to use to her advantage as not to use them up and cost her the race.

This was one of those moments and she was planning on using it wisely.

Vanellope swerved to the right, blocking Taffyta from coming up beside her and was prepared to make the inevitable left swerve but Taffyta remained still.

"What is she thinkin'?" Vanellope thought to herself, trying her best to keep her eyes on both the road and her challenger behind her. Taffyta on the other hand knew exactly what she was doing. Thanks to the randomness of the game, power-ups would be placed in different points of the track to add to the challenge of the game and unbeknownst to Vanellope, Taffyta saw on coming up with her name on it….

On the ceiling.

"Good thing I've been talkin' ta Sonic!" Taffyta said to herself "Without his help, I would have NEVER learned this move!"

Taffyta then speed up gently but began to ease her kart onto the circular curve of the wall around her, crawling her way ONTO the wall! Vanellope gasped in shock once she noticed Taffyta actually beside her on the wall.

"Hey Taff? Might wanna check them tires! Ya might have something sticky in the grooves!" Vanellope laughed as she began to speed up towards the exit of the tunnel.

"Thanks for the warning, Prince-es-ident!" Taffyta laughed as she too hit the gas "But my tires are just fine!"

Vanellope was still focused at the end of the tunnel that the power up didn't even cross her mind until she neared the end. She gave a frustrated cry as she rolled right under it, finally realizing what was happening.

"GAAAAAAH! I can't believe I missed that!"

To her great disappointment, Taffyta HADN'T missed it and at that moment the strawberry racer ran right into the power up and activated it.

SUGAR JOLT!

"YES!" Taffyta cheered to herself. A speed boost! Just what she needed!

Taffyta then managed to steer her car along safely from the ceiling of the tunnel onto the track, landing right in front of Vanellope and speeding in front of her.

"What's this?!" cried the announcer from the main stands "It seems that Taffyta has caught the lead! She was lucky enough to find that power up at the final lap but it can still be anyone's race!"

"Darn right!" Vanellope grinned, ready to activate her glitching powers.

Three.

Two.

ONE!

GLTICH!

POOF!

Vanellope managed to glitch right beside Taffyta again, the other racer sneering at her.

"Bout time ya caught up!" Taffyta laughed.

"Yeah, I figured it would be best to give ya a little running start to the finish line!" Vanellope snickered.

Things had never been so close; the finish line was right ahead of the two and Taffyta's power boost was counting down but at the same time, Vanellope had only one more glitch left before she was out. Both racers would have to use their skills carefully in order to win this one!

"Gotta keep up, gotta keep up!" Taffyta thought to herself, gripping onto her steering wheel.

Vanellope held tight to her steering wheel as well, trying to find the perfect time to glitch without losing her chance.

"Okay, Nelly. Gotta time this right….."

The finish line seemed only inches away yet it was still out of reach.

"So close!" Taffyta said.

"Almost there."

Both girls began to count down. They only had one chance.

"Okay, I can feel it! Three, two, one-!"

POOF!

Vanellope glitched ahead! The crowd cheered!

"YEA! YEA! YOU SHOW HER VANELLOPE!" someone from the crowd shouted.

But things weren't over yet.

"Just what I thought you were gonna do!" Taffyta said, slamming the gas pedal and adding just the right about of speed to the final seconds of her power boost.

BOOOOOOOOM!

Taffyta tore ahead of Vanellope by near inches, just in time to cross the finish line and win the daily roster race! The crowd went wild as the racers finished, slowing down as they made their way to the winners circle.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT BUT THE WINNER IS TAFFYTA MUTTONFUDGE! BY A BOOST!"

Her car finally powering down from the boost, Taffyta leapt out and cheered for the crowd surrounding her, taking off her helmet and throwing it to one lucky spectator in the first row.

"I'M GONNA HANG THIS OVER MY BED!" they shouted before passing out from glee.

"Stay sweet!" Taffyta replied as she jumped into the air and spun into her signature move. Finally landing back on the ground, she heard the sound of laughter coming behind her as Vanellope pulled up, much too excited from the results to say anything else.

"Holy COWTAILS! I've never seen ya pull of a trick like that!" Vanellope laughed as she bounded over to her friend.

"Truth is, I didn't think I could pull it off!" Taffyta said as she wiped her brow "I mean, when SONIC does it, it looks so easy on his feet but he doesn't have to worry about hauling a huge kart on the wall!"

"Either way, it looked AWESOME!" Vanellope said, giving Taffyta a hard slap on the back "Man, can you imagine me doin' that and glitching at the same time?! AN' GETTIN' A POWER-UP?! Sweet monkey milk, I think I'd EXPLODE from all that power at once!"

Vanellope then stopped and thought for a second before smiling again.

"An' it would be the most epic thing ever! I'm seriously gonna do that on our day off!"

Taffyta smiled as she watched Vanellope talking it up with her and the other racers; this was more than nostalgia for her. This was pure joy. For fifteen long years, events like this would have been marred by the meddling of a certain Turbo-Tastic racer masquerading as a Sugar Rush racer but no more. Things were back to the way they should be and Taffyta couldn't be happier.

She just wanted Vanellope to be her friend again and after so much time, she was happy to see that she was.

"Ya know what we should do next?" Vanellope said sly as she approached Taffyta.

"What?"

"We should gathers as many power ups as we can and go DOUBLE-DASHING with 'em!"

Taffyta gasped at the prospect, "Double-dashin'?! Nelly, can this game even handle that much power at once?!"

"I dunno, but we're GONNA find out!" Vanellope said as she took Taffyta by the arm but before the two could escape the ever growing crowd around the winner circle, something happened.

Something that Taffyta had hoped ended long ago.

"Hey! The race must have been fixed!" someone said.

"Huh? Who was that?" Vanellope asked as she peered around, finding no one.

"I'll say! There's no way that race was fair!"

Vanellope pushed her way out of the crowd to find the source of the complaints; two of the many other games' NPCs that had shown up for the free race. The raven-haired racer stepped forward and cleared her throat as she approached the two.

"Ahem, excuse me. IS there a problem here? Ya know ya can always tell ME" Vanellope said smugly as she placed her hands on her chest.

"Yeah, how could you NOT win, President Vanellope?!"

Vanellope shook her head and chuckled, "People, people! Please! It's just Nelly! No need to be so formal, ya know?"

The first NPC shook its head as it frowned, "Still willin' ta put up with such riffraff. You're a lot more patient than we thought…."

"Please tell me what ya mean by that…." Vanellope asked again, a little confused by the attitude of the people before her.

"What we're tryin' ta say is that Taffyta must have cheated! There is no way she could have beat you!"

Vanellope jolted back a bit at the outburst. Not too far away, Taffyta felt a chill go down her spine.

Here we go again.

"Cheated?! Pish-posh an' all those fancy words that fancy people say! Taffy did not cheat! Did ya see her moves?! It took some skills to pull that off without landing and SPLAT! Flat as a pancake!"

"Ya mean if she didn't put somethin' on the bottom of her tires!"

Vanellope gave a loud and mighty laugh as she walked over to Pink Lightening before smugly wiping her fingers on the shiny pink tires.

Not a speck or a drop of anything foul. She then licked her fingers, sticking her tongue out rather teasingly to the NPCs as if to get on their nerves even more.

"Mmmmm, strawberries! But….I don't taste anything else!"

"Well, she HAD to do something! There's no way I'm gonna belive that Taffyta Muttonfudge is HALF as good as you!"

"Hey, hey, hey now! This is supposed to be a FRIENDLY game an' we all have different skill sets ya know! Whoever wins, wins and I can't win 'em all the time! I DON'T win 'em all the time!" Vanellope retorted, getting a little annoyed by now.

"Nelly, ya don't have to do this…." Taffyta replied cooly as she walked over to the NPCs "Look, if you have a problem with the way I race, then tell me! Don't get mad at Vanellope! She didn't do anything!"

"Maybe she didn't….or maybe she did…." The other NPC replied, crossing their arms against their chest.

"What are you implying…." Vanellope said in a low tone "A-are you sayin'…..I LET Taffyta win?"

"Perhaps….what other way could she have won?"

"I dunno? Because she can RACE?!" Vanellope shouted, her nerves finally tweaked now. "Seriously, you guys act like you've never seen her race before or somethin'! If ya saw any of the roster racers where I didn't participate, you would have seen that Taffya can carry her own!"

By now, Taffyta was a little surprised herself that Vanellope was saying such positive things about her but she then realized that this wasn't Vanellope's battle to fight; it was hers.

"Seriously, Nelly. I don't need ya to stick up for me because of this nonsense! The race is over and we both made it on the roster! Isn't that what's important?" Taffyta finished, her hands on her hips.

The two NPCs looked at each other before giving the strawberry racer a condescending glare.

"Typical of her."

"Yeah, I know right?"

Taffyta scowled, "What do you mean TYPICAL?"

"Of course you'd puff out your chest with something like this but deep inside, we all know you're hot air. The second Vanellope is gone, you're gonna talk down to her like ya always did!"

Taffyta growled as she balled her tiny fist, turning a bit red in the face "Now you listen to me! Those days are over and without King Candy-!"

"Without King Candy, you're NOTHIN'! You kissed his butt the moment he came in and now that he's gone, you've just moved onto the rightful ruler here!"

Now Vanellope had had enough, "HEY! You guys act like Taffy here hated me before King Candy took over!"

"Didn't she though?"

"NO!" Vanellope blurted out, shocking herself at how harshly she had replied to the NPCs "GAH! How many times do I have to tell this freakin' story! Tur-BUTT came along like two months or somethin' AFTER we were plugged in an' before that, everyone got along fine!"

The NPCs giggled at both racers as they looked down at the blushing Vanellope.

"I bet Taffyta was the one who let Turbo in."

"Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if she did. Little brat hasn't changed a bit!"

That was enough.

Some many things had happened in the past few months that everyone in Sugar Rush had to get used to; they had to get used to their memories coming back, they had to get used to missing out on so many things, and they also had to get used to the fact that they would never forget how they treated Vanellope over the past fifteen years.

That's what hurt the most.

Knowing that you hurt your friend for so long without your control.

Knowing that you hurt your friend and someone watched behind you, pulling the string and laughing the whole time.

But the thing that hurt the most was knowing that no matter how much you wanted to return to your friend, no matter how much you told each other that you cared, that you hurt, that you both wanted to start anew….

No one would let you.

That was the thing that was happening with some of the other characters in GCS. They heard about what happened in Sugar Rush and if it wasn't bad enough some of the characters saw the game as 'kiddie fare', after learning what the racers had done to Vanellope under King Candy's rule, something negative was always thrown at the group.

It was always their fault that Sugar Rush was taken over.

It was always their fault that Vanellope was a glitch.

It was always their fault that Vanellope was almost killed.

One would think more vitriol would be thrown towards Turbo but as he was no longer in existence, some of the characters had to move on to actual targets, even if the crimes of said targets were not the same as Turbo's.

"So I'm a brat am I?" Taffyta said coldly "It's funny that you guys act so tough callin' me out on what I did when King Candy was here. Where were you when he was in charge? I don't remember seeing you vouchin' for Vanellope or tellin' any of us ta get lost!"

The NPCs fell silent for a moment as they glared back at Taffyta. If looks could kill, nearly everyone in Sugar Rush would be Frosty-dead by now.

"Ya know what? I really don't care anymore. I know enough people around the arcade hate me but…." Taffyta stopped herself once she realized what she had said.

Hate? Do they really hate me?

"But for every complaint I hear from people like you askin' me ta change my ways, whenever I show that I HAVE, ya don't believe me! So what's the point? No matter what I do, it will NEVER be good enough for ya!"

Taffyta turned around and looked at Vanellope. She smiled at the ruler, but Vanellope could tell there was a lot of pain behind the smile.

"But at least I know there will be ONE person who I can trust….." Taffyta said, her voice breaking at the end of her words. "An' really, that's all that matters!"

The two NPCs continued to scowl but it wasn't hard to see that they were a little miffed about being talked down to by a nine year old. They huffed as they turned and left.

"Y-yeah, whatever. I still think you cheated." The first one said.

"Puh, why does Vanellope even hang out with her? I bet she has HER suckered into her act as well!" the other replied as they finally left the gates. Once the two were out of sight, Vanellope gave a heavy sigh.

"Aw MAN! Thank GOB-STOPPERS!" she cried in relief as she stretched a bit. "I seriously cannot believe that they would accuse you of CHEATIN' like that! The nerve of some people, huh?"

Vanellope turned around just in time to see Taffyta drop her trophy on the ground, her head hanging low as she bit her lip.

"Taffy? Taffy? What's wrong?"

Taffyta looked up at Vanellope, forcing a smile as she closed her eyes, trying to ffight back tears.

"I-I-its nothin'!" she said, her voice shaking a bit "Its just…hehe, I guess I'm just a little sore from the race, that's all."

"O-oh…." Vanellope said as she looked at her friend.

It was obvious that Taffyta was lying but Vanellope didn't know what else to say in order not to upset her friend any further. Darn it, why did things like this always have to happen? The only thing Vanellope wanted was fun, not a bunch of people coming to her 'defense' for no reason other than they still had a grudge on her friends. Vanellope was a big girl! She could take care of herself if something happened!

"H-Hey Taffyta, ya need a soda or something? Melon sorbet? Melon sorbet with soda?" Vanellope asked gently, putting an arm around Taffyta. The girl shook her head before rubbing her eye a bit.

"N-no, thanks. I just need some time alone….." the strawberry racer said as she moved from under Vanellope's arm and made her way back towards Pink Lightening. Vanellope knew that her friend was hurt but after such an exhausting argument, even she didn't know what else to say to help her.

"O-Okay. But if ya need anythin'….Just tell me, alright?"

Taffyta turned the ignition on as she smiled towards Vanellope, nodding once. She then took off, leaving Vanellope alone in the winner's circle. Once the dust cleared Vanellope looked down, noticing something on the ground.

Taffyta had forgotten her trophy.


	2. Chapter 2- Party Night

Chapter 2- Party Night

"Ralph….." Vanellope mumbled gloomily in-between bites of her pie "I need some advice…."

The giant wrecker looked down at his friend, rather concerned. "What is it this time? Someone else pickin' on ya or somethin'?"

"Well, YES and NO." the racer said as she stirred her pie on her plate "Ta tell ya the truth, it involves all the racers in my game! No one believes we should be friends!"

"Hmmm…." Ralph thought for a second before reaching for his fifth pie of the night "Ya know those little cavities better than I do. Do YOU feel comfortable around 'em?"

"Of course I do!" blurted the littler racer, so shocked at Ralph's question she nearly fell out her seat "Why does everyone question why I hang out with 'em now?!"

"I dunno, but the fact that they bullied you for 15 years might have somethin' ta do with it….."

Vanellope scowled at Ralph, crossing her arms and pouting "You hang out with the Nicelanders all the time now, and they messed with ya for 30 years but ya don't see me buggin' ya about it!"

"Okay, okay. I get your point!" Ralph said with a chuckle "But honestly, tell me what happened."

"It was after the race! Taffyta came in first place but these two guys from this other game kept insisting that she cheated and if she didn't, I LET her win out of pity!"

Vanellope placed her face in her hands as she groaned, "It was HORRIBLE, Ralph! I just couldn't let 'em talk about us like that but….but I still couldn't say what I wanted to say to 'em…"

"What DID ya wanna say to 'em?" Ralph asked, leaning closer to Vanellope.

"Somethin….somethin' that Calhoun says all the time. That word that makes Felix blush."

"There are a lotta words that she says that makes him blush!"

"The big S word."

"NOPE. You should NOT have said that young lady!" Ralph said in a scolding tone as he peered down at the little racer in front of him.

"I know, I know but when you're best friend is getting bullied like that….you HAVE to do something. But I still felt like I didn't do as much as I could have done! Taffyta said she was fine but I could tell she was upset."

Vanellope looked down at her hands sadly, shaking her head "Ya know Ralph, when I became President of Sugar Rush again, I didn't want all this drama to follow. I just wanted to race with my buddies. Is that too much to ask for?"

Ralph gave the child a warm grin as he lifted her head up, "Look kid, we both know that life is tough."

"I know…."

"An' sometimes we have to keep fighting, even when we think the battle is over. Somethin' is always gonna come up but tha best thing ya can do is pick yourself up an' keep goin'!"

Vanellope thought for a second, realizing that Ralph was right; even though things had reset in Sugar Rush, that didn't guarantee that things would be perfect for her friends and herself. Something else could always happen, no matter how big or how small.

And at this moment, a small problem was starting to grow into a big one.

Vanellope wouldn't stand for bullying of any kind. After dealing with it herself for so long, she knew that no one deserved that sort of treatment. The little racer knew what she had to do. She had to rally up the troops, or to put it better, the racers!

A glow appeared in Vanellope's eyes as she leapt up from her seat and gave Ralph a kiss on the cheek before speeding off.

"Thanks, Ralph! I knew I could count on you!"

"B-But what did I do?" asked the confused wrecker.

Vanellope hopped into her kart, turning the key and reeving the engine "You gave me the perfect idea on how to bring everyone together!"

And with that, Vanellope sped off back to Sugar Rush, her brain filled with plans and excitement.

"If this doesn't bring everyone together, I don't know what will!"

"A party?" said Adorabezzle, giving Vanellope a rather confused look. "Ya mean, like right here?"

"No, we're gonna go to the whack-a-mole. OF COURSE I MEAN HERE, SNO-BRAINS!" Vanellope laughed as she noogied Adorabezzle.

"But what's the occasion? Last time I checked, there weren't any anniversaries or holiday's comin' up!" Swizz replied coolly, placing his hands behind his head.

"Well, I just made a new one!" replied the president "I'm makin'…..er, Sugar Delight Friendship Racing Happy Day!"

The racers looked at each other before turning back to their president; she could tell they weren't digging the name. Vanellope blushed as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Okay, namin' events isn't my specialty but ya get the idea. I wanna invite everyone here to show just how much this game is a cool place!"

"But Nelly, we already have four frozen-dessert themed areas. Isn't that cool enough?" Candlehead asked. Snowanna laughed softly as she patted the flame-headed racer on the shoulder.

"Slow down kiddo and let your brain catch up…."

"Well….the real reason I wanna do this is because….I just wanna show everyone that we're not fightin' anymore…." Vanellope said as she turned towards Candlehead.

"Not fightin'? Why would anyone think we're still fightin' each other?"

"I dunno but today, I ran into a few farts-for-brains who were convinced that Taffy was only kissin' butt ta me or somethin'! Taffy was so upset she left in tears!"

"Oh my!" Crumbellina gasped "I was wondering what was wrong with her!"

"Did you see her?!" Vanellope asked.

"Why yes! As I was going home, I saw Taffyta near Grapefruit Springs!"

"H-How long ago was it?!" Vanellope asked, looking more than desperate now. Seeing this, Crumbellina knew she had no choice BUT to answer Vanellope.

"Er, it was only an hour ago but I doubt she would still be there!"

Vanellope was in a bind for a moment; she still wanted to tell her friends about the party but she also didn't want to miss Taffyta by the springs. Without another second of hesitation, the President leapt for her kart and prepared to go off.

"Er, you guys head back to the palace! I'll call a meeting there later!"

And with that, Vanellope was one again speeding off.

Grapefruit Springs is considered by the Sugar Rush residence to be one of the most energizing part of the game. The strong scent of grapefruit zest was enough to put vigor into a person and the sparkling, effervescent pools of grapefruit soda were especially fun to swim in. Right now, Taffyta was doing just that, hoping that a small dip would bring her focus back. She took a dive from a low hanging Grapefruit tree and landing in the water with a canon-ball. As the bubbles carried her back to the surface she took in a deep breath, inhaling the strong zest that hung in the air.

"Ya gotta focus Taffyta. Ya can't let people like that bother you."

The strawberry racer then splashed back in the spring, the bubbles keeping her afloat as she just drifted along, looking up at the cotton candy clouds.

"I don't know who is the real me anymore…." She sighed "Maybe those guys were right….maybe I am just sucking up to Vanellope."

Taffyta then knocked herself on the head a few times, "Guess there's still some Turbo codin' in my brain."

"If ya HAD a brain, your head wouldn't sound so hollow!"

Taffyta gasped and floundered a bit before turning around and seeing Vanellope standing on a citrus slice by the spring.

"V-V-Vanellope!"

"Hey Taffy…" Vanellope replied gently as she waved towards her friend.

"Um, what bring you here?"

"What else…" smirked the other racer "I'm lookin' for ya….."

"Really?"

"Of course!"

Taffyta sighed, but a small smile forced its way on her face "It's always nice to know someone is lookin' for me. Unless you wanna say somethin' BAD to me of course!"

"Of course not!" laughed Vanellope "I just came ta see if you were doin' anything this Saturday."

Taffyta continued to bob in the spring, thinking for a moment "Aside from the roster, race…..no."

"Good, cuz you're goin' to a party." Vanellope grinned as she looked down at Taffyta, watching as her friend's expression changed completely.

"Party?!"

Vanellope rolled her eyes as she sat up "Pfft! Has the great Taffyta Muttonfudge forgotten the definition of PARTY?"

Taffyta scowled at Vanellope before getting a haughty look on her face "Of course not! I'm not as scatter-brained as Candlehead ya know!"

"Good, and besides? What would it look like if the guest of honor missed her own party?"

Taffyta's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates once the words hit her; guest of honor? Really?

"I-I'm the gu-?!"

Vanellope snickered as she glitched off the fruit slice to the edge of the spring "Well, it's you an' the rest of the crew, so don't get a big head over it!"

Taffyta ran out of the springs and grabbed her towel, drying off as fast as she could, "Come on Nelly! If the party is THAT important, we gotta start getting' ready NOW! Saturday will be here before ya know it!"

At that, Vanellope erupted into a fit of giggles, "There's the Taffyta I know an' love! Ya just can't resist bein' in the spotlight, can ya?"

Aside from the daily roster races, the rest of the week was filled up with meetings about the party and as the days went by, the Sugar Rush crew began to realize just how BIG this party was to be. From the invitations that Jubileena and Citrusella had handed out, nearly half the arcade was coming! Snowanna had gone to the DDR team to get the music together and Candlehead was of course in charge of food, going to each bakery and shop in Sugar Rush to find the best and most delectable treats for the event. Throughout it all, the kids were abuzz with excitement but for one racer, there was also a bit of doubt.

"If I'm so happy this is happenin', then why don't I wanna go?" Taffyta asked herself as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She shook her head, smoothing out the wrinkles in her party dress.

"Come on, you don't want to disappoint Vanellope do ya?"

Of course not.

"But there are gonna be so many people there…."

And they all probally had things to say about Sugar Rush.

Bad things.

"No…No, I can't keep thinking like this!" Taffyta said to herself as she took a deep breath and looked herself in the mirror once more.

What had happened to herself? She had let the constant negativity from the post-reset events to get to her. If she were like her OLD self….

But she WAS her old self. At least, that's what she wanted to believe. At this point, she just didn't know anymore.

"I can't let this beat me…." She finally said, her voice gathering strength "If everyone wants to see the REAL Taffyta Muttonfudge, that's the Taffyta they're going to get!"

Now full of energy, Taffyta marched from her room and out of the castle, taking in the grandeur of the party that was going on. The entire Candy Castle was filled to the brim with guest from almost every game at Litwak's.

Sonic and his buddies were laughing it up with Swizz and Minty. Candlehead was drooling over her idol Chun-Li, and Snowanna and Skrillex were setting the turn-tables up. Taffyta couldn't help but get a little giddy at the sight, giggling madly as she hopped around like a flea. This was just too exciting! Never before had she seen anything like this! Not even during those 15 long years had King Candy thrown a party like this! All his parties were usually focused on HIMSELF but now? This was a celebration of Sugar Rush and no one was feeling left out!

Taffyta ran down the stairs into the crowd, trying her best to find Vanellope. As she was walking, she bumped into Ryu.

"Oh, sorry lil lady!" the man said with a smirk.

Taffyta bowed politely, "It is alright sir! Have you seen the president?"

"Nelly?" Ryu said, scratching his chin "I think I saw her over by the snack table!"

Taffyta bowed once more to thank the man and ran off.

By the snack table, by the snack table.

Oh, where is she?

Just as Taffyta approached the table, two familiar figures stopped her dead in her tracks.

"The NPCs from the earlier race!" she squeaked, backing up a bit. Suddenly, an sort of courage that she had talked into herself was starting to fade. This wasn't a good sign.

"Wow, who knew that a bunch of kids could throw something like this!" said the first NPC, sipping some of their punch.

"Yeah! But when you live in a game that is basically a living snack bar, I guess you would know a thing or two about throwing parties!"

Taffyta began to back away a bit, trying best to evade the two at all cost but she then realized that in doing so she was only letting them win.

"Really Taffy?" the racer asked herself "Are ya gonna let THESE guys get ya everytime?"

Without stalling a moment more, Taffyta made her way towards the two but kept her eyes focused on the table and her mind on Vanellope. She still had to be around here somewhere.

"Watch out, here she comes!" whispered the first NPC.

"Not now. I don't have the energy to mess with her right not, even if she does deserve it….." said the second, dragging their partner away from the table.

Taffyta sighed, having dodged TWO bullets.

"TAFFYTA!"

Taffyta yelped in shock as she turned around, seeing Vanellope dressed in one of her newer party dresses.

"So how do ya like it?" Vanellope asked, grinning from ear to ear "That big ol' red thing was just too much so Ms. Mary sewed this up for me!"

"It looks nice!" Taffyta said, blushing a bit.

There was a moment of silence between the two but before Vanellope could say anything she was shocked to find herself being hugged tightly in Taffyta's arms.

"Hey, what's THIS for?" Vanellope asked snarkily.

"It's a thanks…"

"Thanks?"

"Yeah….Thanks for stickin' with us an' doin' all of this for us…." Replied Taffyta softly.

Vanellope waved a hand, "Pa-shaw! Like I said, I did this for you guys to show everyone that Sugar Rush isn't just some hyper active, tooth rottin' Mario Kart clone! We know how to party!"

"Speaking of Mario, where is he?" Taffyta said, looking around.

"I dunno. Swizz said he gave him an invitation but ya know late that guy is!" answered Vanellope, rolling her eyes. She then smiled at Taffyta and took her by the hand, pulling her towards the dance floor.

"Come on! Snowanna got Skrillex and the DDR guys to rent us this awesome floor pad! Ya gotta try it!"

Taffyta still could not believe what was going on; seeing everyone enjoy themselves was pure bliss for her and best of all, she and the rest of the kids were actually hanging out like they SHOULD be. There were no warnings about glitches, or no ill-mannered mummers and hurtful gossip.

It was just fun.

As the night continued on, some of the guest began to leave and the crowd started to thin out. This didn't stop the racers however. Some of them had begun a special midnight race and considering how much the track glowered and shimmered in the moonlight, it was a sight to see. At that moment, Sticky crossed the finish line first ending what was the third race of the night. From her spot in the crowd, Taffyta gave a cheer.

"WHOO! GO STICKY!"

As the crowd continued to cheer, something odd came into Taffyta's mind; where was Vanellope? At the end of every race, Vanellope was always there to present the winner with a meddle or a trinkets but this time around, she was gone. Taffyta then remembered that Vanellope had said she was going to go check on something but she had now been gone for a while. Either Vanellope had gotten really caught up in whatever she was doing or….

Or something aws wrong.

"No, don't get yourself all worked up!" Taffyta thought as she looked behind herself, expecting Vanellope to just pop in at any second. Once the next race began and still no Vanellope, the strawberry racer found herself getting a little more concerned.

"She's GOTTA come back!"

Soon, the current race was over and the crowd was cheering for the next.

"Okay, something is up. Vanellope would never just miss a race like this!"

Taffyta then began to make her way back to the castle, seeing a few guest who continued to mingle around. Everywhere she looked though, Vanellope wasn't in sight. She ran up the stairs and began to check every room she could.

"Vanellope?"

No reply.

Back down the stairs and out towards the garden.

"Nelly?"

Again, not a single response.

Taffyta then made her way to the front gates of the castle, hoping to see something but again she came up empty. Her heart raced; hopefully she had just missed her friend in her frenzied search of the castle but no answers? No clues? Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

The little racer ran back inside, scoping the castle for any of her other friends who were not at the track. Luckily she ran into Sakura, the mocha racer sitting at one of the windows and enjoying the moonlit sky.

"Sakura! Thank goodness! Have you seen Vanellope ANYWHERE?!"

Sakura blinked as she noticed how frantic Taffyta looked, "No, I have not. The last I saw of her was a good hour ago!"

"Where?!"

"Hmm, I saw her heading near the kart bakery!"

All the way out there? Why would she go THAT far?

Taffyta thanked Sakura and dashed off to her kart, blazing her way towards the bakery. Why would Vanellope just leave for that place in the middle of the party? It was so far away from the castle that it would take her some time to just make it there by foot. Each moment that passed by, Taffyta grew more concerned.

"C'mon, Taffy! You're gonna make your hair turn RED with all the worryin' you're doin'!" she said to herself.

What she saw next however justified her worry, for on the side of the road was Vanellope's kart.

So she DID drive out here, but she was still a good distance away from the bakery so why would she just leave her kart out here?

Taffyta hit the breaks and reversed towards the other kart, trying her best to see if there were any clues left.

Everything LOOKED clean but it would be best to take another look.

Taffyta got out of Pink Lightening and looked around. Everything on Vanellope's kart was untouched. Not a crumb was out of place, nor was a blob of icing was pristine and perfect.

Except…..

A chill ran down Taffyta's spine as something in her mind told her to look up. As she did, she saw the sight of what looked to be the bow from Vanellope's new dress, hanging from a low branch of a lollipop tree.

"W-what-!?"

A gentle breeze took hold of the scrap of material and it floated down before landing on the hood of Pink Lightening. Taffyta ran over and picked up the scrap, only to find that there was a note wrapped inside of it. With shaking hands, Taffyta unrolled the note, reading it aloud;

"I hope you don't mind but I need to borrow your president for a while."

The skin of the racer nearly turned white as a ghost as she froze in her place, her hands still clutching the note. This couldn't be what she thought it was. Her mind was trying to convince her that it was just a joke. Just a ruse. Something that Vanellope had come up with. An unstable laugh came from Taffyta's throat as she looked around, expecting Vanellope to pop out of nowhere at any moment.

"Ha-ah! Come on! I fell for your joke, b-but we need ta get back now!" Taffyta said, her voice shaking.

The only thing that answered the racer was the cool night air blowing through her hair.

Still.

Alone.

Nothing.

Vanellope Von Schweetz had vanished.

"No…." Taffyta managed to squeak out before running back to her kart and returning to the castle. Once she returned, she noticed that most of the other racers had gone back into the palace as the racing events had ended. Not waiting a second longer, Taffyta rushed through the doors and stopped in the middle of the dance floor.

"NELLY'S GONE!"

Some of the racers yelped from the sudden outburst, everyone turning around as they looked at the panicked Taffyta.

"Wait, what do you mean GONE?!" asked a frantic Rancis.

"Does this answer your question?!" replied Taffyta as she shoved the note into his hands. After reading it, Rancis' usually rosy face turned pale.

"I-is this for real?!"

Taffyta "H-how could it not be?! I found Nelly's kart abandoned near the bakery and this note tied in a tree! Nelly wasn't anywhere to be found so…so…."

Everyone fell silent once the realization hit them.

"We have a kidnapping on our hands!" finished Gloyd.

The racers started to become more frantic which escalated into a mass panic of everyone running and talking over themselves.

"Who could have taken her?!" screamed Citrusella.

"WHY would someone have taken her?!" asked Snowanna.

"Oh gob, oh gob, oh GOB! Do ya think TURBO is back?!" blurted Candlehead.

"Please don't say that! I don't even wanna think about it!" said Sakura.

Being right in the middle of the madness, Taffyta was being pushed and shoved by everyone but she knew that this was getting them nowhere. She drew back a deep breath and held out her arms.

"EVERYONE! SHUT! UP!"

Silence fell in the hall as everyone once again looked at Taffyta but to their surprise, Taffyta's entire demeanor had changed; she was no longer scared at the situation that was unfolding and instead looked as if she were ready to take charge.

A friend was in danger, there was no time to sit around and panic.

"Okay, we can't waste any more time! The longer we sit her and talk, the less time we have to help Nelly!"

"B-but what should we do?!" asked Torvald "We don't even have a Princ-es-ident anymore!"

Taffyta frowned a bit as she looked down, "Yeah…yeah we do."

"What do you mea-?!"

"If you remember our backstory, Vanellope may have been the princess but there was one person who was next in line to her should something happen to her."

The racers looked at each other, their eyes widening as they realized what had just happened; with Vanellope out of the picture, the next person to go to the throne was…..

Taffyta Muttonfudge.

"Ho boy…." Taffyta said to herself. "THIS is something I wasn't prepared for…."

The racer knew that she had a huge weight on her shoulders at the moment; a racer was missing and being that it was the ruler of the game, all the responsibilities that Vanellope had had were now on her. Taffyta had to admit that she wasn't prepared for this in the slightest. She always assumed that NOTHING would happen in the game that would bring that portion of her backstory into usage and as such, she put much of her focus on racing and left the ruling business to Vanellope. Even during the missing fifteen years, Taffyta hadn't thought of being second in command since Turbo's reprogramming had all but wiped that memory from her mind as well. She had just been content on being the tyrants 'favorite racer' and remembered nothing of how the ruling of Sugar Rush went.

But things were back to normal in Sugar Rush now which meant that Taffyta HAD to step up, whether she wanted to or not. This was no longer a question of if she was ready but whether or not she could lead her team to find Vanellope.

She knew what she had to do.

"Guys, we gotta do to Hero's Duty!"

Upon hearing the very NAME of the game, Adorabezzle shivered in fear "THAT game?! But why!?"

"Calhoun and her men are the best when it comes to search and rescue and I'm sure they can do a better job than us hunting Vanellope down!" answered Taffyta as she put on her racing helmet.

"Okay, good point, but what about the races? We still need to fill the roster list for Monday!" said Snowanna. Taffyta turned towards her friend and gave her a reassuring smile.

"C'mon! There are more than enough of us to fill the spots so we shouldn't worry about that!"

"We SHOULDN'T worry?" Minty said in a rather unamused tone "You're kiddin' right?"

"Alright, fine! If ya don't feel like racin' ya can come with me to Hero's Duty then!" replied Taffyta as she continued to gear up?

Minty jumped back a bit, "Just the two if us?!"

"No, C-Head an' Swizz will be backin' us up so we shouldn't feel alone!"

"Right Ms. Prince-es-sident Taffyta!" Candlehead said powerfully as she saluted Taffyta, doing so with the wrong hand.

"And the rest of us?" asked Nougetsia.

"Cissy, Juju, and Rancy, you stay here with Sour Bill and round up some of the other citizens to help search for Nelly while we're out! The rest of you, fill up those roster spots and inform me of ANYTHING suspicious that happens, got it?"

"Got it!" Jubileena said, taking Citrusella and Rancis by the hands as she lead them down the halls of the palace.

"Come on, we can't waste any more time!" Taffyta said as she ran towards her kart, the others following suit. The four then drove towards the rainbow bridge leading to GCS but as they did so, Swizz pulled up alongside Taffyta.

"It's just our luck huh? Vanellope gets her spot back in the game after all these years only to have something like THIS happen!"

"Yeah, but this time we're not gonna let this last for fifteen years!" Taffyta said angrily as she sped up the bridge.

There was no what she was going to let this happen again!

No way.

"We're gonna find ya, Nelly!" Taffya said to herself "We're gonna find ya!"


	3. Chapter 3-Nightmare Stroll

Chapter 3- Nightmare Stroll

There are many things people want to avoid waking up to in the morning, especially after partying all night long.

Aching body.

Chills.

A massive headache.

Unfortunately for one Vanellope Von Schweetz, she woke up to all of that.

"Urgh….I musta pigged out on too much Turbo Pie and soda last night…" Vanellope grumbled as she slowly sat up, placing her hands on her aching back. "Gah, did I sleep on the FLOOR?!"

She opened her eyes, only to find herself surrounded by a dank, dreary, emptiness. This view alone was enough to wake her up completely.

"Uh, hello?"

No reply.

"H-hello?"

Again, nothing.

Vanellope stumbled to her feet and looked around. This murky wasteland…it seemed familiar but she couldn't put her finger on it. She looked at the sky; it was grey and lifeless with a few wisp of stormy clouds hanging over head. The trees were all sickly and bare, their leaves having dropped off ages ago.

"Where in Silent Hill am I?"

She then took a step forward but felt a snap underneath her feet. She looked down to see what appeared to be part of a branch from a Pocky Tree, but whatever life and color once flowed through it was now completely gone, leaving a stale, brittle crumbly mess.

"Wait….there's only one place that has Pocky Trees…an' that's-!"

Vanellope gasped as she then realized she was standing in her own game but no longer was it bright and cheerful. Instead it was bleak and glum.

"S-Sugar Rush?! This is…SUGAR RUSH?!"

Vanellope frantically looked around for any signs of life but found none. It was if she were in the game ALONE.

"D-d-did the game get unplugged?! But I can escape now, I shouldn't have been left in here alone!"

The sound of reeving engines his Vanellope's ears and she turned towards the source. If there were races still being held, that meant that there were still people around! But that still didn't explain what had happened and where everyone had gone.

"Keep calm Nelly, keep calm! If I can make it to track, I'm sure I can get an explination to whatever is goin' on now!"

The racer then ran down the hill back towards the village but as she got closer, it hit just how bad of a state her game was in.

"Oh my Gob Stoppers…."

Upon reaching the village, Vanellope felt as if she had entered a ghost town. Every home, building, and store seemed to be crumbling and rotting away before her. The small candy villagers staggered about like zombies, as if they were aware of where they were but having lost any faith, they just lingered about, not caring what would happen to them. Vanellope looked off in the distance to see the huge bakery and even it too looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years, sick, black smoke coming from it rather than the rainbow steam that filled the air.

"No….no, this can't be-!"

As then turned and noticed some of the villagers scurrying from her in fear.

"It's the Prin-ce-sident!" said a terrified little peanut-cup girl, her mother scooping her up and carrying her away.

"Don't anger her!" said a broken candy-cane man.

"Please, spare us!" begged a taffy lady as she fell on her knees and cried.

Vanellope stood in the middle of her sobbing citizens, too shocked herself to even think about what to do. She looked around, feeling everyone closing in on her "S-spare you?! From what?!" she cried as she started glitching in place.

"Please!"

"NO!"

"DON'T HURT US ANYMORE!"

Vanellope couldn't take what was happening and gave a loud scream before glitching away and running as far from the village as she could. She turned around, trying to see if anyone was following but at that moment-

WHAP!

She was met face-to-face with the door that lead to the tracks. It took Vanellope a second to collect herself as she pulled away from the door, rubbing her sore nose.

"Nice moves, NELLY." she grumbled to herself.

She looked at the massive gate, seeing that it too was in horrible condition. She then peered around, seeing several posters plastered everywhere, each with a stamp of what seemed to be her likeness on the bottom. Investigating further, Vanellope tore one of the posters off the walls and read it aloud.

"Attention all racers, from now on you're only goal is to participate….not to win?"

The racer shook her head, trying to understand the message, "The heckie does that mean?!"

"NO! NO! PLEASE! I didn't MEAN IT!"

Vanellope squeaked before glitching out of the way just as the massive gate flung open. From her hiding spot, she saw a heart-breaking sight; Minty Sakura was being drug off by two doughnut cops into the Doughnut wagon. The usually happy Sakura was now dressed in rags of her former attire and tears were streaming down her pale face.

"P-PLEASE! I didn't mean to cross the finish line be-!"

"We don't care!" said the first cop.

"You broke the rules, you now the punishment!"

The two then slammed the door in Sakura's face and hopped in the front of the wagon before speeding off towards the Candy Castle.

"What in the world is goin' on?!" Vanellope said as she crept out of her hiding spot.

"My Prin-ce-sident, please! There is no need for anger like this!" pleaded another familiar voice.

Sour Bill?

Vanellope ducked again but peeked out enough to see Sour Bill, or what REMAINED of Sour Bill, following a figure that was dressed in a dress even larger and lavish than her own official dress.

"Oh Bill…." Vanellope whimpered, seeing just how bad his condition was. Sour Bill had also lost some of his coloring as well, going from a bright tart green to a more greyish, sickly green. His body was cracked and shattered and a rather large chunk of his candy shell was missing. It definitely looked as if he had been through a lot, but who could have done such horrible things to him?

Vanellope had to find out!

She watched as the figure entered a large carriage and drove off. Moving, or to put it better, GLITCHING her way towards the carriage, Vanellope manage to sneak inside the trunk, ducking in for the ride. From her spot, she could hear much yelling but it was so muffled she couldn't make heads or tails of what was being said. All she knew was that she was ready to pound whoever had done this to her game and her friends!

"Oooh, I can't wait to see their face-!" Vanellope growled, balling her fist together. She then shook her head "No, my FISTS can't wait to see their face!"

The carriage came to a stop and again moving as quick as light Vanellope glitched her way out of the trunk and behind a large rock candy statue, carved into the likeness of someone. She looked up, only to see that the statue was….

Herself?

"Huh? I-it's me?"

Vanellope heard the low drone of the doors closing shut and managed to glitch inside before they slammed tight. Once inside the palace, she saw that it was quite different than things inside; while the village and the track looked horrible, the castle was in pristine condition. Everything was shining and bright. Not a sugar lump was out of place nor a biscuit overturned.

It must have been such a wonderful life.

Vanellope couldn't help but shudder as she slunk her way deeper into the palace. She knew for herself that she and the others had done a lot of redecorating to the palace since getting rid of Turbo but what she saw now made her mind spin. The walls that were once decorated with pictures and art made by her friends were replaced by garish portraits of…..

"Me." Vanellope said as she looked at the portraits "It's all me…."

She looked around again; there was something unsettling about what she was looking at. While the figures in the photos might have looked like her, they still didn't FEEL like her. The smiles didn't bring a sense of warmth of friendship but rather hidden meanness and cruelty.

She knew that smile all too much. It was the same smile that Turbo had worn when he was King Candy but now, she was doing it herself.

"Okay, things are coco loco here in Sugar Rush!" Vanellope said as she began to back away from the portraits.

"But aren't they divine?" cooed a voice behind her.

Vanellope let out a yelp as she jumped back and turned, staring face to face….WITH HERSELF. She looked at the figure up and down trying her best to ensure this wasn't some insane hallucination. She pointed at the figure, her entire body shaking.

"Y-y-you're-!"

"Mm-hmmmm…." The figure replied "I'm YOU."

The doppelganger twittered as she walked around Vanellope, fanning herself with her candy wand "Or better yet, I'm the you YOU want to become."

"W-what are ya talkin' about?! The me I want ta become?! Really?! Have ya seen yourself in the mirror?"

Vanellope's double twirled around in her dress and smirked, "Why yes I have…and I look stunning!"

Unable to hold back her anger any longer, Vanellope rushed the double and slammed her into the wall, knocking over a jawbreaker bust in the process.

"Okay jerk-face, tell me what's goin' on here! Who are you an' what have ya done to MY game?!" demanded Vanellope, so angry that she was once again glitching in place.

The double simply grinned as she placed a hand on Vanellope's tartly, "Why are you insisting that I'm someone else? I've told you before…I'm YOU and I'm carrying out the wishes that you wanted to happen to Sugar Rush!"

Vanellope shook her head, pressing a hand on her chest "Nah, nah, nah! I don't know who's dream's ya been tapin' from but this is NOT my Sugar Rush! Not by a long shot!"

"Oh, are you sure about that?" the double replied as she pushed Vanellope away from her, walking away arrogantly "I know more about you than you wish to admit…."

Vanellope crossed her arms as she watched her double "Oh really now? Just HOW much do ya know about me?"

The doppelganger turned, her lips pursed in a giddy smile, "I know enough. I know enough…."

The double seemed to glide over to Vanellope, giving her an unsettling grin before tapping her on the forehead with her wand.

"It's all in here….all in here. All tucked away in that little brain of yours so none of your little friends can see…."

Vanellope glitched away from the double, her fist held out as if she were preparing to punch her. "Touch me like that again and these babies will give ya TWO black eyes!"

Such a little threat was amusing to the double and she once again laughed before gliding over to Vanellope and taking her, rather roughly, by the hands.

"Come, I have something to show you, sweets…."

The double then dragged the kicking and screaming Vanellope further into the palace, past the great halls, and deep in the hidden depths of the palace.

The fungeon.

Vanellope knew these halls all too well but never before had she felt a sense of fear when she walked down them. She felt the presence of others around her and as she turned, she saw the candy villagers shoved into the dank cages of the pit.

"W-what are they doing here?! WHY ARE THEY HERE?!" Vanellope yelled towards her double, pulling her closer in a threatening manner.

"Why are THEY here? For disobeying ME of course!"

Vanellope was in horror at what she looked at; the villagers looked so weak and hurt but not only were they cowering in fear at her double…they were cowering in fear from her as well.

"L-listen! I didn't so this to ya! I DIDN'T DO THIS TO YA!"

"Oh, why deny such wonderful work that YOU'VE done?" the double laughed, continuing the walk of horrors.

The two then rounded another corner and Vanellope began to notice that the cells were getting larger, as if to hold bigger characters. She then let out a gasp as she then saw her friends held within the confides of the cells. Each and every one of the Sugar Rush racers were placed in a cell, each one looking as if they had been beaten, tortured, and robbed of any brightness and love they had in their lives. Vanellope tried to twist and pull herself away from her doppelganger but it was futile; she just couldn't escape.

"Urgh, her grip is even worse than a melted Mary-Jane!" Vanellope growled to herself, feeling the double digging her nails into her skin.

"Ah, this is my favorite wing…the wing of those who wronged me!" the doppelganger giggled as she moved closer to each cell to allow Vanellope a full view of just how terrible the others look.

Vanellope continued to struggle, "W-What did they do?! WHAT DID THEY DO?!"

"I thought it would be a fitting price for them to pay after all the years they put US through?"

By now, Vanellope was close to BITING the double's hand to force her to let go "B-But Turbo! King Candy! HE WAS THE ONE WHO TOOK THEIR MEMORIES! HE PLAYED THEM!"

"Ah, yes. King Candy! WE learned so MUCH from him!"

"W-we?"

The double approached Jubileena's cell, the cherry racer leaning against the bars, much too weak to move.

"It doesn't matter if Turbo had these simple fools under his control, they still deserve a good thrashing! If not for refusing to worship me hand and foot, then for not remembering who is the TRUE and ONLY racer of this game!"

And with that, the double grabbed Jubileena by one of her pigtails and pulled back hard, making the poor racer cry out in pain as she tried to pull back.

"STOP! IT HURTS!"

"That's ENOUGH!" roared Vanellope as she finally managed to glitch out of the grip of the monstrous monarch, pulling her away from Jubileena. The double looked stunned for a moment but then began to cackle once more.

"Wow, someone is a little red hot, aren't they?"

"Don't touch them! DON'T COME NEAR ME!" Vanellope said, so furious that her entire face was red.

"My, my, my. I give you a view of what you wanted and THIS is the way you treat me?! Tut, tut. Such an UNGREATFUL little thing!"

"NO! I NEVER WANTED TO TREAT MY FRIENDS LIKE THIS!" Vanellope roared as she marched closer to the fraud "I don't care what ANYONE says about them! They are my friends! THEY ARE MY PEOPLE! THEY DON'T DESERVE THIS PUNISHMENT!"

Just at that moment, Vanellope heard the screams of Sakura as she was then thrown into the cell.

"Please! I beg of you! I'm sorry!"

Vanellope ran over to Sakura's cell and reached for her, "Sakura! Sakura! Listen to me! I'm here! I can get you out of he-!"

"NO! NO! PLEASE! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Sakura wailed as she hobbled to the back of her cell, tears streaming down her face.

"Sakura! SHE'S NOT ME! I'M THE REAL VANELLOPE!"

"Stay away! STAY AWAY!" Sakura then huddled in the corner, weeping and blubbering to herself as Vanellope could only look on in horror. She then turned around and looked towards the other racers in their cells, pleading with them.

"Come on guys, you can't think this is me?! I'm RIGHT HERE! I'M HERE! RIGHT BEFORE YOU!"

The races slinked back into their cells, the actions of the real Vanellope making them even more horrified than they already were.

"I-it's another trick!" stuttered Adorabezzle.

"Sh-she's gonna torture us again!" sobbed Rancis.

"Please don't see me, please don't see me!" shivered Candlehead, who was sitting in plain sight.

The sounds of her friends' cries continued to swirl around Vanellope and with each passing second, she realized that there was no reaching them.

They were gone.

She then looked at the doppelganger who still stood by the cells, smiling sweetly at her.

Maybe this wasn't some nightmare.

Maybe this was happening right now.

Vanellope felt weak as her knees began to shake and she sank to the floor.

"No, this is all fake Vanellope! This is fake!"

The sobbing and crying only got louder as Vanellope saw everyone huddled in their prisons. For a moment or two, she felt like she was in her own prison, one that SHE had created.

"I didn't do this! I didn't do this!"

"Yes you did! YES YOU DID!" cackled the double, her voice echoing throughout the chambers.

The combined sounds flooded Vanellope's mind as she began to believe the words of her own reflection. Maybe she had done this, maybe she was doing this.

Yes, it was all her fault.

This is what she had turned into.

She was a monster.

Tears began to stream down Vanellope's face as she looked down at the stone floor, "I-I'm sorry….I'M SORRY!"

"Vanellope…." Chanted the racers from their cells.

Vanellope.

Vanellope!

VANELLOPE!

The little racer sat on the ground, curled into a little ball, "What…what have I done?"

"A marvelous, MARVEOLUS thing…." the doppelganger said with a snicker as she took Vanellope's chin gently and turned it towards her. "But there is one LAST thing I want to show you…."

The double then dragged Vanellope towards the ends of the dank pit. As they passed by, Vanellope was only met with more images of her people locked up in cages, crying out in fear and pain. Vanellope turned around and shut her eyes, but even with her eyes closed the images continued to flood in. They soon reached the end of the hall where one final cell was kept.

"W-what is-?"

"You'll see…." the doppelganger hissed, its eyes becoming more frightening.

The door of the cell slowly opened on its own and a low hum could be heard within. The room was pitch-black and yet Vanellope felt compelled to walk in on her own. Step after step, step after step, she walked in, not knowing what horror would await her. She looked back, seeing the smiling image of herself waving cutely towards her. The little racer then began to notice that the cell was a lot larger than it seemed and she was going further and further from the door. Once darkness fully enveloped her, Vanellope stopped.

"H-Hello?"

With a large and loud CLANK, a single light appeared in the room. Vanellope yelped from the sudden burst of light but she then focused her attention on what the light was shining on.

A small figure.

Dressed in tatters of pink and white.

"T-Taffyta?"

No response.

"TAFFYTA!"

Vanellope ran towards her friend who was lying limply on the floor.

"Oh my Gob, what's happened to you?!"

Again, there was no response.

"If I see Taffyta….I'm gonna break her fingers."

Vanellope looked around once she heard the voice but saw that the only people in the room were Taffyta and herself. She shook as she continued to clutch her friend.

"What?!"

"And let her lie there bleeding…." The voice said again in a cheeky manner.

Vanellope looked down, seeing that Taffyta had indeed been injured in that way, her little hands broken and bleeding in their gloves. Vanellope bent down and held Taffyta to her, crying horrible.

"Taffyta! TAFFYTA! Please answer me! PLEASE!"

It then dawned on Vanellope that the voice was once again her own and the comments….they were thing that she had said before. She remembered the anger she used to harbor towards Taffyta when the girl was a bully and King Candy was in charge. She remember saying such horrible things and wanting to do such horrible acts. But once things had reset, those acts had long been forgotten.

Until now.

Vanellope realized that whatever she wanted to do to Taffyta in the past had been carried out now. She choked back on her tears as she just how bad Taffyta had been injured.

"NO! NO! Taffyta! I didn't want to hurt you! I didn't want to hurt you!"

Taffyta seemed to stir but her eyes were so empty and blank. They then focused on Vanellope but like everyone else, Taffyta's eyes began to fill with tears. She shuddered in Vanellope's grip and tried to move from her but at this point she was so weak, that she was unable to move anywhere. Vanellope wept as she saw this.

"No, don't you run away from me too. Not again…."

"N-no…" Taffyta whimpered, trying to lift a hand towards Vanellope.

Vanellope continued to cry, "I didn't want to hurt you….I didn't!"

Just then, the double appeared from out of the shadows, looking down at both racers and continuing to smile.

"Oh, buy YOU did…." The doppelganger's voice echoed "You wanted to make her pay for what she had done to you! You wanted all of them to pay! You wanted them to pay in the most painful and humiliating way possible!"

Vanellope sniffed and wiped her eyes "B-but I was just angry back then! I would never have done this, especially after finding out the truth!"

The double snickered as she bent down and put a hand on Taffyta's head gently, "Oh, we can forget such silly little things like that! Isn't this much better?"

"NO! No, this is horrible!"

"But it's what you wanted!"

"I never wanted any of this! I just wanted to race!"

"But you can race all you want now!"

"AT THE COST OF MY FRIENDS?!"

"They were never your friends!" hissed the double.

"YES! THEY! WERE!" yelled Vanellope. She tried to clutch onto Taffyta's body but she then looked down, seeing that the girl had vanished from her hold. She looked around desperately but the only people in the room were herself and her double. Vanellope scowled at the imposter, getting back on her feet.

"Where is she?!"

"Oh, she's FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!" hissed the double, her form becoming warped and mutated much to Vanellope's shock.

"W-wait…what's goin' on?!"

As the doppelganger continued to cackle, it's body began to transform. Its limbs elongated, its teeth turned into sharp fangs, and its face seemed to melt from that of a racer to something much more sinister. Vanellope could do nothing but stare in horror as the creature began to grow, soon passing even the height of Ralph. Vanellope looked around, seeing that she was no longer in the fungeon but someone much more horribly. The ground felt slippery and a cold, heavy fog drifted in the air. She didn't know where she was but all she knew was that she was in trouble. She then heard the familiar cackle of the creature before her.

"Well, Ms. Vanellope Von Schweetz…..looks like it's time for the fun to REALLY start!"

Vanellope gulped as she looked at the massive beast.

It was going to take more than glitching to escape this thing.

"Oh, SNICKERS."


	4. Chapter 4- Little Vanellope Lost

Chapter 4- Little Vanellope Lost

Even though it was the weekend, things in Hero's Duty were as busy as always. Calhoun and her crew were practicing their drills once more, shooting what had to be their one thousandth Cybug for the night.

"Did I see a stray blast?!" roared Calhoun in between blast from her own gun "Someone's getting' sloppy!"

"I-it was just some shell shrapnel in my eyes! It was an honest mistake!" said one of the fellow NPCs, trying his best to regain his footing on the battleground.

"You call it an honest mistake, I call it leavin' yourself open for the kill!" retorted Calhoun, nailing another Cybug in the face.

A buzzer then sounded, signally the end of the training mode. After such a hard and strenuous day, there was barely a solider left standing.

"Aw man!" said one "If I don't double at Tappers, I don't know what I'll do!"

"At least I only got my face ripped off TWICE today!" chuckled the another.

Calhoun smirked a bit as she saw her men; they had done a stellar job this night and she knew they deserved a break, lest they be too exhausted for the upcoming workday.

"Okay, soldiers! Let's take a few hours!"

The group thanked Calhoun as they made their way back to the barracks. Calhoun sighed, proud that another training mission had gone off well. She too felt the need to go visit her husband in his own game.

"Hope Felix is ready for some cuddlin'!" she laughed to herself but she hadn't taken one step when she heard something off in the distance. Her fighting instincts kicked in and she turned back towards her men, armed and ready to shoot.

"HOLD UP GUYS!"

The soldiers aimed their guns, ready to attack whatever was coming from the tram tracks but before a single blast was shot, a bright flash of pink caught everyone's eyes.

"SGT. CALHOUN!" yelled Taffyta as her kart left the ramp and flew a good three yards before landing on the metal floors and coming to a stop. Taffyta didn't even wait for her kart to come to a stand-still before throwing herself out and running towards the now stunned Calhoun.

"Muttonfudge?! What in the world are you-?!"

"Sgt.! We have an emergency! Vanellope's been snatched!"

Calhoun stared down at Taffyta, looking as if she hadn't heard her correctly, "What do you mean SNATCHED!?"

"She's been KIDNAPPED!" Taffyta yelled, not realizing she had nearly jumped on Calhoun in the process.

"Programmers, why didn't you kids call me sooner?!" growled Calhoun as she rushed over to her hover-board "Markowski!"

"Yes ma'am?!"

"Watch over the cadets while I'm out! It's a personal emergency!"

Calhoun then took off, Taffyta following suit behind her. As the two exited the tunnel from Hero's Duty, they were met by the other Sugar Rush racers, each one looking rather grim as Taffyta arrived. The racer pulled up near Swizz, his head hanging low.

"Did you get any clues from anyone else?!" she asked Swizz.

"Not a-one! We've been to Turtles, Mappy, even the Whack-a-Troll game! No one's seen her!"

"How long has she been missin'?" asked Calhoun as she hopped off her board.

"Only a few hours but I can't be certain!" Taffyta said as she exited Pink Lightening "There are only so many games in this arcade! You'd think someone would have seen her by-!"

Taffyta then stopped once she realized there were only two racers in front of her; Candlehead was gone.

"….Where's Candlehead?!"

"Uh, she went off on her own, last I saw her!" said Minty, seeing the color drain from Taffyta face once more. The strawberry racer then let out a frustrated growl as she gripped the corners of her hat.

"Aw COME ON! I don't need two friends missin'!"

"Taffyta!" yelled Candlehead, running from the entrance of Fix-it-Felix Jr., making Taffyta jump nearly a foot in the air.

"C-Butt, where have you been?!" yelled Taffyta.

"I-I just got through talkin' with Mr. Felix!" panted Candlehead.

Uh-oh.

"FELIX?! You went to Felix BEFORE I could get Sgt. Calhoun?!"

Candlehead looked up at Taffyta, a little confused as to why she seemed so angry that she went off on her own "I figured that since he's Nelly's friend too, he should know!"

"Urgh! I can understand your sentiment, Candle, but there's a REASON why I wanted to wait until Calhoun told him about this!"

"Er, why?" asked Candlehead, still confused as to Taffyta's reasoning. Taffyta then pulled the girl closer, looking her right in the eyes.

"Candle. Felix may be Vanellope's friend, but who also lives in Fix-it-Felix Jr. Who ALSO loves Vanellope to death and would do ANYTHING for her?"

Candlehead scratched her head as she thought "Mr. Ralph of course, but-!"

"Riiiiight…." Taffyta cut in, "An' when RALPH hears about what happened….."

Just at that moment, a tremor began to shake the area which only grew stronger with each passing seconds. Soon everyone in the station was bouncing around, looking for anything to keep them stable.

"GAH! THIS IS WHY I HATE BEIN' ON THE FAULT LINE!" yelled Swizz, trying his best to stay steady on his feet.

Taffyta on the other hand stood still, groaning as she placed a hand on her face. Calhoun knew what was coming as well, simply taking the kids and moving them behind a bench for safety.

"Three…two….ONE."

At that moment, an ENORMOUS blast came from the entrance of Fix-it-Felix and as the smoke cleared, everyone saw the massive form of Ralph, glaring angrily at everyone in the station. Poor Felix on the other hand was holding tight onto Ralph's shoulders, in shock and a little embarrassed at the looks that both men were receiving and why not? Ralph had more or less destroyed EVERTHING in his path in his rampage towards the station, even going so far as pulling up the tram when he felt it wasn't taking him to the man hub fast enough, the thing now lying by his feet in a twisted pile of metal.

"WHO TOOK VANELLOPE!?" Ralph roared, so angry that his entire face was red and steam was billowing from his nose.

"RALPH! CALM DOWN!" cried Felix, fanning the man with his hat.

Calhoun and the racers peeked from behind the bench once they saw that the worst of it was over…for now. Taffyta narrowed her eyes as she gave Candlehead a bonk on the head.

"And THIS is why I wanted Calhoun to tell 'em. SHE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD KEEP HIM FROM RUNNIN' AMUCK!"

After everyone had returned to Sugar Rush, and Ralph had been calmed down, the search began. Calhoun requested she be taken to the scene where Vanellope's kart had been left and as soon as she arrived she wasted no time in picking apart everything she saw.

"Wow, she sure is thorough!" whispered Crumbellina.

"Got anything, Tammy?" asked Felix as he stood on his tiptoes in order to get a better view.

"Only a few trace data readings. Vanellope was definitely here! Her code readings lead out towards the exit, but there's somethin' else!"

"What do ya mean, Sgt.?" asked Taffyta, moving alongside Felix.

"Someone was trying to cover their tracks but they did a sloppy job." Calhoun then changed the setting on her monitor but the moment she did, her eyes widened in shock.

"It can't be!"

"What?! WHAT!? It can't be WHAT?!" asked Taffyta as she tried to look at the screen.

Without saying another word Calhoun ran forward, going deeper into the brush, her monitor beeping faster the further she went. Just as she reached another grove of coconut grass, a sight caught her eye; a scrap of cloth was caught on a branch. Calhoun then took out the bow that Taffyta had given her and found part of it to be a match to Vanellope's dress but there was something odd about the piece on the branch. It appeared to be seared at the ends with some sort of soot but as Calhoun moved closer she saw that what she once thought was soot was actually moving! She gasped and pulled her hand away, especially when it appeared that the black material on the cloth was attempting to latch onto her!

"Holy programmers!"

"Sgt. Calhoun! Did you find anything?!" called Taffyta from afar.

"I did….but I'm prayin' it's not what I think it is!" said the woman as she plucked the cloth off with a pair of tweezers before placing it in a containment cube. She ran back to her board to grab her pack, seemingly ignoring the others who were awaiting answers from her.

"Honey, what is it?!" asked Felix in concern.

Without saying a word, Calhoun pulled out yet another device from her pack, placing the containment pod in one of the thing.

"What is that?" Ralph asked, looking over Calhoun's shoulders.

"Data emissions scanner." Calhoun answered with a smirk as she continued to type on the keypad "This thing should be able to tell us what this mystery substance is…."

After a few seconds, the device beeped but as it did, a red-ring popped up on the screen. The sergeant cursed to herself at the results.

"Guys…things might be a lot more dangerous than we thought…."

Hearing this only made the Sugar Rush racers panic even more but Taffyta continued to hold her composure. She couldn't panic in front of her friends, especially when she was now in charge of the game but despite the solid look on her face, she was terrified.

"J-just how dangerous are we talkin', ma'am?"

Calhoun hesitated to reply but she knew she had to in order to keep the search going.

"We all thought this was just a kidnapping but if my scanners are right, we not only have a hostage….we have a virus-infiltration!"

"A VIRUS?!" blurted Felix as he looked towards his wife. "Ya-ya mean like a Blue-Screen of DEATH virus?! Oh my LAND, just what we need after that Cybug attack!"

Ralph on the other hand was ready for a fight now that he knew what the target was.

"Then it should be no problem!" Ralph growled as he cracked his huge fist "All we gotta do is round this bugger up an' fry 'em, right?!"

"Fry 'em? HAH!" Calhoun laughed as she turned back towards the group "I WISH these guys were as easy to take out as Cybugs but even if ya aimed a Mentos blast DIRECTLY at a virus, it would still come back, angrier and hungrier than ever!"

Taffyta gulped, her mind trying to picture exactly what these virus creatures might look like. To think Vanellope had to face one of those beasts alone only made her feel worse.

"But I don't get it!" Ralph said as he approached Calhoun, "Didn't you say that the Cybugs were a virus?!"

"Yeah, they are but only in the CONTEXT of my game!" Calhoun said as she began typing in her com "At the end of the day, Cybugs are still a NECESSARY and PROGRAMED part of a game and since they were out of our game when they flew into the light, they were able to be destroyed!"

Calhoun then turned towards the other, her face looking rather grim as she scowled, "A real, bonified virus on the other hand, they have more tricks and turns than a Sonic game! They find ways to hack and burrow into a program to become one with it, meaning that even if they're hit with the death blow, they can still come back kicking! The only way you can truly get rid of 'em is blastin' 'em with a vaccine an' unfortunately, very few games have them in their internal hard-drives, ESPECIALLY you retro game boys like yourselves!"

"H-have ya ever seen a virus, Sgt?" asked a nervous Taffyta.

"Just once but it was when we were bein' tested before we ended up here. Some disgruntled employee thought it would be funny to hack into the drivers and put a virus in us. Thankfully the guy in charge caught this and deleted the bugger before it got to us…." Calhoun then stopped, a worried look on her face "But what we were up against was just a Class One!"

Felix cocked his head to the right. He still was new to all of this virus talk his wife was going on about, "Class One?"

"Very low grade. Think the intelligence of a Cybug an' a whole lot….slimier…" Calhoun shuddered, turning to look at the sample in the scanner, "But from the looks of this AND the fact that it was able to write a note…we're dealing with a Class Three here! Intelligent, crafty, an' out for as much data as they can consume!"

"I-if this is true….how do we get rid of it and more importantly, where did it take Vanellope?!" asked Taffyta.

"I have my hunches…." Calhoun said, placing a hand on Taffyta's head "I know a lot of viruses try to get in via the wireless network connection in a lot of newer games but since Litwak THANKFULLY has us all turned off, they didn't get in that way!"

"Then…what other way could it have gotten in?" asked Ralph.

Calhoun fell silent as she got up, throwing her gun into the back of her pod. She gritted her teeth at the very thought of the virus making off with Vanellope to its hovel.

"Guys…we're headin' to the cord….."


	5. Chapter 5- The Cord

Chapter 5-The Cord

When most people speak of the cord, the first thing they think of the main power strip that connect all the games to GCS, but the real cord is something much different. It is something that many older games dread to even talk about let alone go near. At the end of the GCS, there is the last hall which connects to the cord that goes directly into the wall. This area was dank, dark, and dirty; a place no character with half a brain code would venture near.

Back in the day, the cord was just an area to avoid because one could get lost or separated in it but now, with so many new electronic devices, the cord had become a dangerous place. This was the new nesting ground for viruses, especially those who wanted an 'easy' way to infect computers since it lacked the risk of getting lost in limbo of wifi and even the old outdated phone cords. Through a plain old power cord, a virus could just slip on through and HOPEFULLY make their way to another computer.

HOPEFULLY being the key word.

Since most of the time many computers were armed with strong firewalls and other anti-virus programs, the lazy gits often found themselves stranded in the grottos of the cords, waiting for who knew how long to take their chances and strike. Over the years, many and many more viruses became stranded in the deep depths of the cord, each one hungering for data and destruction. With so many types of viruses lurking about in the cords now, a game character didn't stand a chance. One false move and CHOMP!

Bye-bye player one!

But in the mind of Taffyta Muttonfudge, the images of the cord wasn't the worst part.

No, the worst part was knowing that somewhere in that murky pit was a little racer by the name of Vanellope Von Schweetz.

By now, the entire station was abuzz with the events and a huge group of onlookers had gathered around the cord where Calhoun and her team were stationed. The sergeant looked around in annoyance before groaning.

"Urgh, is this a circus or a rescue mission?"

The woman then walked back to the convoy, knocking on the door.

"Mouse. MOUSE! Have ya got everything set up yet?!"

The door of the convoy opened up, revealing another Heros' Duty NPC; a rather awkward looking woman wearing goggles and armor much different than those of the fighting grunts.

"Almost! This is the first time we've taken this thing out for such operations! I just wanna make sure everything is secure!" said Mouse, nervousness in the voice.

"Well, hurry please! The more time we waste, the less chances we have of finding this kid!"

Felix approached Calhoun, taking her hands into his "Tammy, ya sure ya don't want me an' Ralph ta come! We could help if something breaks down or if ya need anythin' punched outta tha way!"

Calhoun smiled as she bent down to her husband's height, "Thanks but no thanks solider. I know I've taken ya for a few rounds in Hero's Duty but this might a little too much for you guys! Stay here an' make sure everyone else is safe just in case something happen, okay?"

Felix nodded as he saluted his wife "Anything you say, Sgt!"

Calhoun readied herself to board the convoy but she stopped, "Oh an' one more thing!"

"Yes?"

Before Felix knew what was happening, Calhoun scooped him up and planted a huge kiss on his lips, a few high-def hearts floating around the couple.

"Save me some pie when I get back tonight. I'm gonna need it!"

Felix grinned smugly as he was placed back on the ground, "Ya have my word, honey!"

From the crowd, the two heard some snickers from the Sugar Rush kids. All except for Gloyd; he found the mushy moment a little too SWEET, even for his taste.

"Ew, I don't think viruses are the only thing we have to worry about spreadin'!"

And with that, Minty gave Gloyd a jab in the side.

Calhoun entered the convoy, her team ready to go, "Alright guys! Let's move out!"

It is important to remember that while the length of a power strip is short to humans, for a game character, the strip can stretch for miles. The Hero's Duty soldiers were feeling that effect, as their trek had taken them for what felt like hours down the dark reaches of the power cord. They had seen many things in their own game but nothing compared to THIS.

The road was getting rough as the terrain changed. It was like some sort of cavern; large formations of what appeared to be rocks were everywhere, cracking under the weight of the rolling convoy. Every so often, jolts of electricity would shoot from both the floor and ceiling, adding the haunting atmosphere of the area.

"What a lovely place…" Calhoun said in disgust, watching carefully for any signs of movement from anything. "Mouse, ya have a reading yet?"

Mouse continued to type furiously at the computer, working on three monitors at once but she found nothing.

"Negative. So far, there hasn't been a blip or a sighting!"

Calhoun cursed to herself as she looked ahead.

"Come on, where are ya Vanellope?"

Just at that moment, something familiar caught Calhoun's eyes.

"WAIT! STOP!"

Markowski hit the brakes, nearly causing everyone in the vehicle to fly forward, "What do you see Sgt?"

Calhoun moved towards the window, peering out. She could make out a faint shade of mint-green in the distance, its colors greatly contrasting against all the black. She then recognized it as Vanellope's hoodie.

"She is here!"

Calhoun then went for her gun and opened the hatches of the vehicle, wasting no time in jumping out.

"S-Sgt?! Where are ya-!?"

"Vanellope's close! Just keep your eyes on the monitor and warn us when somethin' is comin'!"

"Okay, okay!" stuttered Mouse, turning her gaze back to her work.

"Markowski! Out here! I'm gonna need another pair'a eyes an' good aim for this!"

As the two soldiers made their way into the depths of the cord, Calhoun discovered just how much of a grotto it was. The entire area looked and felt like it was covered in some sort of thick black ink and the constant burst of electricity weren't adding any beauty to the landscape.

"Thank goodness for protection, right Sgt?" chuckled Markowski, keeping alert.

"Perhaps for this environment…." Calhoun said, looking up "But you can bet your bottom teeth that a virus can gnaw right through these things!"

Markowski gulped; that was something that he did not need to hear.

"Well, just so long as they don't look like BUGS, I'll be fine…." He retorted.

The two continued on cautiously when a blip went off on Calhoun's monitor.

"Hold!" she whispered towards her partner, standing still.

"What is it?"

Calhoun knelt a bit behind a formation, pulling Markowski with her "Weak blip. Class one…"

The two hid as they watched the sinister form of a virus creep along. Markowski was amazed; it had been so long since he had seen a virus that he was still amazed when looking at their forms.

"It's like…some sort of evil lookin' cat…an' a JELLYFISH!"

"At least you can declaw cats…." Calhoun hissed, glaring at the thing.

The virus stopped in its tracks, sniffing the air a bit. For a moment, it looked as if it was confused as to where Calhoun and Markowski were.

"Should we get it?" Markowski whispered, aiming his gun. Calhoun pulled him down once more.

"No….I don't want to alarm any more of these things if they're around!"

The virus continued to keep still but the two soldiers noticed its head turning slowly. The unsettling sound of creaking bones could be heard as the thing turned its head completely around, grinning at the two with an unsettling toothy smile.

"Freeeeesh dataaaaaa…." It hissed.

It knew they were there all the time.

"Markowski?"

"Yeah?"

"Get ready to shoot…."

The virus then screeched loudly as its form became more twisted and deformed. It then let out a blood-curdling screech, calling upon the rest of its virus clan which now began to crawl from behind the rocks. The horrid eyes and teeth flashed at the two soldiers but they were ready and packing!

"BLAST 'EM!"

An all-out frenzy began as viruses began to swarm the two, hoping to be the first to take a bite of their tantalizing data. Calhoun wasn't going to have this though; not at all! She aimed and fired constantly, blasting any virus that came near her.

"DO YA FIND THIS TASTY?! I HAVE SOME MORE!" Calhoun yelled as she emptied another round into a group of viruses.

Markowski was doing an equally good job keeping viruses off him and for a while, he was enjoying the battle.

"HAHA! An' these guys are supposed to be WORSE than Cybugs?! BRING 'EM ON!"

The solider was having too much to realize a particular virus was now creeping up on him.

One that resembled a-

"BUG!" screeched Markowski as he finally laid eyes on the hideous thing. He let out a high-pitched scream as proceeded to run for his life, the virus trailing behind a little too close for comfort.

" Programmers!" Calhoun groaned as she shot another virus. The woman then ducked in-between a crevice to protect herself from the oncoming swarm.

"BACK-UP! I REPEAT! SEND BACK-UP!"

A few moments later, a few more soldiers came running from the convoy, shooting to kill as the viruses only seemed to increase in numbers.

"DON'T LET 'EM BITE YA!" yelled Calhoun, jumping back into the mele "If they sink their teeth inta ya, you'll become infected!"

Not too far away, Markowski continued to scream and fail at the bug-virus that was after him.

"WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE BUGS?! WHY DOES IT ALWAYSS HAVE TO BE BUGS?!"

Ignoring where he was going, the solider lost his footing and fell forward, the virus ready to pounce and bite. The man screamed once more but he then remembered he had one more trick up his own sleeve. He reached to his belt and pulled out a grenade and just when the beast was about to take a chomp out of him, the man SHOVED the device into his mouth.

"There, that tastes MUCH better than I do!" the man said as he scrabbled to his feet and leapt behind a formation for cover just as the bomb went off, blasting the beast to smithereens.

"Well, I think I have my new nightmare fuel for the next month or so…." The man said, wiping his brow.

Back in the heat of the battle, Calhoun was trying her best to fight and search at the same time but no matter where she looked, Vanellope was nowhere to be found.

"Come on, kid! Where are ya?!"

As if to answer her, a sharp, horrified cry rang from the midst of the battle.

"VANELLOPE?!"

The sergeant turned around to see the huddled form of Vanellope, trying her best to hide from the wave of viruses and shots going around her.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" Vanellope cried, glitching in place every second.

Calhoun's heart nearly leapt out of her throat when she saw Vanellope, making a mad dash to the child.

"It's okay, it's okay! Things are going to be alright now!"

"I dooooooooon't think soooooooooo!"

Vanellope and Calhoun turned just in time to see another virus in front of them, lifting a huge block of petrified data over his head. To Calhoun's horror, she saw that the virus was wearing the outer suit of a Hero's Duty solider.

"Programmers!" she cursed

The virus beast then hurled the block at both characters but thanks to her quick moves, Calhoun was able to move out of the way, but not before catching her leg on one of the formations.

"GAH!" cried Calhoun, the pain in her leg rippling throughout her entire body. She gritted her teeth, taking the pain as she continued to hold onto Vanellope.

"A-are you-?!"

"Don't worry kid, I can walk it off!" hissed Calhoun as she forced herself up.

Hobbling as fast as she could, Calhoun made her way back to the convoy before whistling the signal back to the rest of her team.

"COME ON! NOW!"

"You heard _Sergeant_! Let's GO!" Markowski yelled as he lead the team back to the convoy.

The remaining member of the team all piled into the convoy.

"I think we lost two back there!" cried one of the soldiers.

"Darn it!" shouted Calhoun as she looked back, seeing the virus-solider joining the masses of other viruses as they began to go after the convoy. The beast surrounded the vehicle and climbed on top of it, shaking it the point where they thought it would topple over. Vanellope gripped onto Calhoun as she gave a scared cry.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE THINGS DOIN'?!"

"Come on, get us outta here!" Calhoun screamed at the driver who wasted no time in hitting the gas and gunning for it.

As the convoy took off, it thankfully shook off some of the viruses but a few continued to cling on, biting and scratching at the armor of the vehicle. Back inside a warning light flashed on Mouse's dashboard.

"This isn't good!" Mouse said, her fingers working endlessly on the keyboard.

"What's goin' on NOW?!"

"Those things are eating away at our cover! If they keep this up, they'll be able to get in for sure!"

"Speed up!" ordered Calhoun.

"This thing is goin' as fast as it can right now! We'll overheat soon!"

Calhoun thought back and forth on what to do. The situation called for something BIG but what did she have that could do the job?

Wait.

There was one thing.

"Mouse, you brought along the Vaccine bomb right?!"

Mouse turned around to face her commanding officer, "Yeah, but ya know we can't-!"

"We GOTTA USE IT!" yelled Calhoun, trying her best to hobble over to the computer specialist. "It's the only thing that'll send these demons to their makers!"

"But the area is too small! If we get caught in the blast we could be wiped-!"

"The thing has a timer right?! If can move ahead fast enough, we might be able to escape the blast!"

Mouse gave Calhoun a look of deep worry but she knew in her heart that the sergeant was right; they had no other choice and if they wanted to get out alive, they had to do it.

"Watch the screen for me…" Mouse said as she got up and walked towards the weapons shelf, pulling out the Vaccine bomb from its container. The woman than turned towards Markowski.

"Markowski, I need ya to cover me on the gun!"

The man nodded as he dashed over to the ladder to the upper bay gun of the convoy. Once there, he immediately took hold of the massive blaster and began firing at any virus that moved.

"THAT'S FOR RED!" the man shouted as he nailed a virus in the face "AND THIS IS FOR BLUE!" he shouted again, once more hitting a virus.

Mouse remained ducked in-between Markowski as she turned the time of the bomb, "KEEP SENDIN' EM BACK! WE NEED AS MUCH DISTANCE AS WE CAN GET!"

The man kept firing until there was a nice distance between the convoy and the rampaging viruses but he knew in order to get them all, more had to be done.

"There's gotta be somethin'!" he said to himself. He then looked up at the formations that lined the ceiling of the cord. The man smirked, an idea hitting him.

"Ya may wanna cover your head, Mouse!"

"Wait, WHAT?!"

Markowski then aimed his gun for the ceiling, blasting off huge chunks of rock and debris and forming a rather good barrier that slowed the viruses down. Mouse gave a cheer once she saw the hoard lose speed.

"YEAH! Nice one!"

"Is that bomb of yours ready?!"

Mouse grinned as she gave her partner a nod, standing up and aiming the bomb in her hands.

"All those hours of playing Super-Star Baseball had better pay off!"

The girl then threw with all her might, the bomb flying right through an opening behind the stone formations and right into the heart of the viruses.

"GET DOWN!" she cried as both she and Markowski retreated back into the convoy.

"PUNCH IT, MICKEY!" Calhoun ordered the driver who put the speed of the vehicle to the maximum.

"Alright everyone, strap in, hold on tight and cross your fingers! This is gonna be some BLAST!"

As Calhoun braced herself for impact, she felt a hand gripping her own; she then looked down to see Vanellope, the child's face showing great fear. Calhoun took Vanellope by the chin as she raised her head up a bit.

"Don't worry kid, we're gonna make it!"

"Count down to blast!"

"THREE!"

The viruses sniffed at the bomb, trying to figure out what it was.

"TWO!"

"BOOOOOOOOOOMB!" screamed on as it tried to flee.

"ONE!"

In that moment, a pin could have dropped. Everything was at a stand-still. As soon as Mouse said one, the bomb went off, a great flash of light engulfing the area just as a massive wave of power blew through. Anything within spitting distance of the thing was instantly incinerated and thankfully for the group of rescuers they were far away enough not to be affected by the blast, even though their convoy did get pushed a great distance from the result wave. Inside, Calhoun clutched onto Vanellope tightly.

"HANG ON KID! HANG ON!"

"We're approaching the end of the cord!" Mouse yelled as she continued to hold on.

Mickey reached for the intercom, trying to clear out as many people before someone got hurt as they flew out.

"MOVE! MOVE! DANGEROUS OPERATIONS ARE SOON TO BE CONDUCTED! FOR THE EVERYLOVING FRACK, MOVE!"

The large audience of characters that had gathered at the end of the power cord screamed and ran for their lives once they saw the huge convoy roaring towards them. Mickey hit a hard right on the steering wheel, forcing the convoy to turn a near perfect 180 degree as it then faced the end of the power cord. Inside the convoy, Mouse ran from her seat and climbed back up the ladder, turning the gun around and aiming it back into the cord.

"Say hello to your markers, ya vermin!" Mouse hissed angrily as she then fired, this time sending a blast that traveled down far enough to destroy any virus that was still running their way up the path. Everyone within the station was blown off their feet from the resulting blast but once the light had died down, all was silent once more. Felix got back on his feet, slowly walking towards the convoy.

"I-is that it?!"

The convoy then opened up suddenly, the soldiers helping Calhoun walk on her injured leg. Felix was beside himself in worry when he saw just how hurt she was.

"TAMMY!"

"Ah-ah-ah! It's okay Felix! It's okay!" Calhoun said with a smile as she held out a hand "I've been hurt worse during work!"

"Work my foot! Look at what those nasty viruses did to ya!" Felix said furiously, bouncing up and down around his wife like a jumping bean "Ooooh, if they even THINK about comin' back here, I'll show 'em a thing or two an'-"

Before Felix could finish he found himself being swept up in his wife's arms, grasped in a tight hug "Settle down, Fix-It! No need on gettin' yourself worked up on this!"

Felix huffed as he pouted in his wife's arms, "How can I NOT get worked up when my wife an' one of my friends is in trouble! Ya have no idea how worried I get sometimes!"

Calhoun gave Felix a peck on the cheek, "You really do know how ta love ya girl, ya know that? But speaking of friends…."

As Calhoun turned back towards the convoy, a little figure emerged from within. She coughed a bit as she tried to find her footing on the ground. From within the crowd, Taffyta looked in awe, her eyes growing larger.

"Vanellope?"

Vanellope turned to see her group of friends looking at her, the sight of them causing a smile to appear on her face. Taffyta couldn't hold herself back any longer and simply ran towards the little raven-haired racer.

"VANELLOPE!"

Before Vanellope could even say a word, she was embraced in a tight hug as well and nearly sent falling on her bottom.

"Oh Godstoppers! You're alright!" the strawberry racer managed to say in-between sobs.

Before Vanellope could respond, then other racers surrounded her, all trying to get a chance to hug her.

"We were so worried!" said Sticky.

"Are you okay?!" asked a frantic Adorabezzle.

"Don't EVER scare us like that, ya hear!?" Minty said rather angrily, punching Vanellope in the arm.

"OW! It's not like I HAD a choice NOT to be kidnapped, Mintz!" Vanellope said, rubbing her sore arm as she winced.

Watching the scene, Calhoun couldn't help but smile. It was things like this that reminded her just how important her job was. Her smile began to fade a moment later, remembering that the group had lost two soldiers during the battle. She turned to the remaining crew, remaining strong for them.

"You guys did a wonderful job…but we have to remember who we lost."

The group of soldiers hung their heads in sadness. Markowski balled his fists in anger, his mind going back to the sight of one of his comrades being attacked and engulfed by the swarm.

"Filthy viruses! I DARE 'em ta come back here and face us again! They won't be left standin' once I'm through with them!"

"Block this exit down with another firewall patch." Calhoun said as she pointed towards the opening "I don't want to lose any more people than we already have."

"Yes ma'am" said Mouse as she climbed back into the convoy, preparing to finish off the task of the mission.

Calhoun began to realize just how dangerous the mission was; never before did she ever think she would see the deletion of two NPCs from her own game. The gamer might not have cared since to them, they were just background fodder but for the people inside, they were family. The feelings stung as it reminded her of her own backstory but unlike her backstory, those that had fallen during battle were not meant to go out like that and as they were not in the game when they were taken out….they would never be seen again.

Calhoun felt a lump form in her throat as she fought back the tears, instead hitting the side of the convoy in anger.

"Frack…"

Back with Vanellope and the others, the reunion was continuing.

"Kid, I'm so happy you're safe!" Ralph said as he picked up his friend and gave her an enormous hug. Vanellope laughed as she returned the hug.

"Aw, I could have made it myself! Calhoun and her team just helped a little!" Vanellope said jokingly.

"Now that all of this is over, ya can finally take your spot as ruler again!" Taffyta said in relief.

Vanellope nodded as she jumped from Ralphs' arms, "Yeah but do we really have to rush into it? I mean, we're all so tired! I just wanna go home, take a bath and go to bed!"

"Well…if ya feel that way, we can start things up Monday!"

"Y-yeah, that sounds like an awesome idea!" Vanellope said as she leaned against Taffyta for support but she then jumped a bit.

"Oh!"

"What?! What is it?!" asked Taffyta in concern.

Vanellope then ran back into the convoy, coming out a moment later holding her hoodie.

"Almost forgot this thing!"

Taffyta smiled warmly; she was so happy that things were back to normal but she was even happier to be reunited with her friend. She took Vanellope by the hand and led her back to her kart.

"Come on, let's get ya home…."


	6. Chapter 6- Push Play

Chapter 6- Push Play

Monday came a lot faster than the racers had expected but thanks to the guidance of Taffyta prior to the events in the cord, there were indeed enough racers for the players to choose from. It was only an hour before the arcade opened when Taffyta arrived at the track, her mood sunny and bright as she watched the spectators getting to their seats. True, she was going to be one those spectators for this race but she didn't care. She was much too content in knowing that a crisis had been advert to worry about making it for this roster.

There was always tomorrow.

Oh, she KNEW she was going to win the race for tomorrow, no doubt about that!

Taffyta looked down at the starting-line as the racers file into the line-up, everyone ready to go. As she watched, Taffyta felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she was greeted by the smiling face of Gloyd.

"Make sure ya enjoy your spot in the stands!" he said jokingly.

Taffyta sneered as she pulled a lollipop out of her pocket, "Ya got a lotta sass Pumpkin-Head. Hope it'll help ya actually cross tha finish line this time!"

"Just WATCH me!" Gloyd retorted as he placed his helmet on, running for his kart. He was about to get in when he heard a beep coming up from behind.

It was Vanellope, all geared up and ready to race!

"Excuse me, but do ya mind if I take this spot?" Vanellope said sweetly as she looked over at Gloyd. The racer looked at the others, unsure what to say.

"Um, well….I DID win the roster for this race soooo, I….um."

"Aw c'mon Pu'kin-Butt! A race is just what I need to get back inta my groove!" Vanellope replied rather smugly.

Gloyd knew he was cornered; even if Vanellope wasn't the ruler of the game, he still wouldn't be able to win against her, not with the look she was giving him. The racer gave a sigh as he chortled to himself "Okay, okay…Just don't look at me like that!"

"Ya mean….like THIS?" Vanellope asked sweetly, batting her big, bright eyes. Gloyd covered his face and gagged jokingly.

"Yeah, like that! EW! Ya tryin' ta kill me with that look, Medusa?!"

The raven-hair racer could only smile as she drove into Gloyd's spot once he had moved. She then pulled up aside him and gave him a pat on the cheek "Why sir! Ya really know how ta treat a lady!"

Gloyd blushed brightly before giving Vanellope a wave and headed off. Back in the stands, Taffyta couldn't help but smile as well as she watched the entire exchange yet she also couldn't shake an odd feeling she had in the back of her mind. Even though she didn't doubt that Vanellope was strong, she had recovered from the events of the day before a little TOO quickly.

When she and the others had left her for the night, Vanellope still seemed shell-shocked and exhausted from the events that had taken place in the cord, a GREAT contrast to the overly energized Vanellope that was sitting in her kart at the moment.

Taffyta gave herself a mental slap; how could she be thinking about Vanellope in such a way?

It had to be her nerves! She too was still a little frazzled from the events so it was no wonder she was blowing things out of proportion.

"Simmer down Taffy-head…." The strawberry racer said to herself "Ya keep this up, people will have a good reason to say you're crazy!"

"Oh, like we don't NOW?" said the familiar voice of Swizz.

Taffyta rolled her eyes and moved over a bit to make room for her friend, "I was wondering when you were gonna get your butt down here."

Swizz sat next to Taffyta, stretching his arms and making himself comfortable "Ya know I like ta take my time, 'specially on my days off!"

"At least YOU'RE taking a break! Nelly just replaced Gloyd for the day's roster!"

Swizz shrugged, "Ya know how some people are! For them, being in constant movement IS a day off!"

"I guess you're right…." Taffyta said, pulling her lollipop out of her mouth "I just hope Nelly doesn't push herself TOO hard."

As the arcade opened, gamers began to pour in and do their daily run of the place. Sugar Rush was seeing more players than usual but at the same time, Vanellope was WINNING more than usual. In truth, it wasn't the fact that was winning that struck the racers as odd but rather what Vanellope was doing in order to win. Some observed her driving wasn't as fluid or as sharpened as it usually was; it was more erratic and wild, as if Vanellope threw all of her style right out the window for no purpose whatsoever other than to push the others off the road.

Even weirder was how Vanellope was interacting with the players or to put it better, how she WASN'T interacting.

During normal game play, it was usually up to the PLAYERS to control the characters, leaving all decisions on how their powers and skills would be used up to them. This time around however, Taffyta began to notice that Vanellope was playing a bit against the player somehow, steering them to and from rather forcefully.

Why was Vanellope being so aggressive towards the player? She was NEVER like this!

Just at that moment, Vanellope crashed into the back of Sticky's kart, sending her spinning into a lollipop tree. The crowed flinched and oohed as they watched the events unfold on the jumbo-tron.

"Ouch! I bet that's gonna hurt in the mornin'!" said Swizz, his eyes narrowing a bit as he thought out the pain.

Crawling out from under her kart, Sticky watched as Vanellope sped on by, waving as she did so.

"Sorry, slip of the wheel!" the raven-haired race said, just before plowing right into the back of Nougelstia's kart, the poor racer also being forced out of control and flying into a field full of animal crackers.

Needless to say, both Sticky and Nougelstia was MORE than a little flabbergasted at the response but what else could they do considering their karts were busted? Taffyta kept a close eye on the jumbo-tron, watching every second and taking in every detail.

"Hey, Swizz. Is it just me or is….or is Nelly REALLY BARRELIN' down the track this time?"

"Yeah, I guess but what's so different about that? Ya know how tough the races are!"

"No, DUH smart-mouth!" Taffyta said in an annoyed tone "It's just that Vanellope drives with a bit more, I don't know, GRACE than that! With the way she's goin' gunnin' after people, you'd think she was MINTY or somethin'!"

Just then a frozen banana clocked Taffyta on the back of the head. She looked up to see Minty sitting two rows above her, a sour look on her face. Minty pointed her fingers to her eyes before pointing them back towards Taffyta and Swizz, the two ducking their shoulders in embarrassment as they turned back around.

"Gob, she has ears EVERYWHERE!" Swizz whispered in fright.

Her head still ducking down a bit, Taffyta snuck a peek out towards the screen, seeing the familiar face of the Moppet Girl at the control. A friend of hers was playing as well and had chosen Vanellope as her avatar but as the two girls played, they had no idea what insanity they were in for.

"Whoa, this game is fun!" said Moppet's friend.

"Yeah! Just make sure you don't waste all your warp-stars! If ya do, ya won't be able to move ahead!" Moppet said, her concentration on controlling Rancis.

Moppet's friend attempted to listen but too much of her attention was on trying to control Vanellope "Well, I tried usin' em….but I can't get 'em ta work!"

What?

Taffyta then looked at the map screen; Vanellope was in the lead again but every time the other player tried to use a warp star, nothing happened. Vanellope just kept going on her own and tearing up heck doing it. At the moment, she was neck and neck with Sakura, ready to turn at Twizzler pike.

"Hey Sakuuuuuuuuura, wanna do somethin' coooooooooool?" Vanellope cooed at the other racer.

Sakura just glanced off to the side, trying to keep her concentration on the road. Vanellope smirked as she then made a sharp swerve to the left, ramming Sakura's car against the rails. Sakura let out a frightened scream as she found that not only did she no longer have any control over her kart but she was teetering a little too close for comfort on the edge of the pike. Outside the game, the other player could only look in awe as her avatar fought mercilessly to keep Sakura from moving.

Sure, the other player WANTED to win but at this point it almost felt as if Vanellope wanted to win more than she did! Moppet turned and watched her friend's screen, flabbergasted at what she thought she was doing.

"Hey! Ease up on the other players! I know ya wanna pass 'em but-!"

"I'm not doin' this!" yelled the other player as she tried to turn away from Sakura but once again found that there was little to no response to her movement.

"What in the world is she DOIN'?!" Taffyta asked herself, her eyes glued to the jumbo-tron.

Back in the race Vanellope hit another hard left, managing to send Sakura flying through the guard rails into the Twizzler forest below. The crowd gasped in shock as they watched the racer fly from the road and geared themselves up for the expected crash. Thankfully, the end of Sakura's kimono had been snagged on one of the long branches and she was pulled from her kart before it went crashing to the ground. She wiped her brow in relief, looking up just in time to see Vanellope speeding off.

Back outside, Moppet continued to instruct her friend on the game.

"Wow, that was a bit…extreme! Ya sure you're not tryin' ta kill anyone?"

Moppet's friend was now desperately trying to regain control "Hey, don't look at me like that! This game is actin' on its own!"

"Oh, oh! You're catchin' up with me!" Moppet said as she gripped onto the steering wheel tightly.

The two girls raced neck and neck together but it was apparent that Moppet's friend was still having a little difficult with some of the moves of the game, not helped by Vanellope's actions against her.

"Warp is the horn right?! Warp is the horn?!"

"Yeah! Now come an' see if ya can pass me!" Moppet laughed as she maneuvered Rancis directly in front of Vanellope.

"Okay kiddo!" said the other girl "We're up the final leg! Time is runnin' out! We need ta work together on this!"

The girl glanced over at the horn, remembering the rules of the Warp Stars Moppet had told her; limited amount of stars. The distance is short. Use them wisely.

This was the time to use them!

"Better watch out! Because here comes Vanellope Von Scheetz!"

The girl slammed her hand on the horn!

Nothing.

"Huh?"

Moppet turned around, seeing her friend repeatedly hitting the horn, "Hey, you're gonna run outta stars if ya keep usin' up like that!"

"How can I when this kid doesn't seem to want to use 'em?!"

Back inside the game, things were getting more and more intense, even without Vanellope using her trademark powers. Instead of glitching, Vanellope slammed into the back of Rancis, the boy screaming at the suddenly jolt.

"WHOA!"

"Hey, did the control for the horn get switched to the gas?!"

Vanellope sneered as she sped up, using all the power she could to lift the back end of Rancis' kart off the ground.

"Whoa, NELLY" cried Rancis, trying his best to be discrete from the player. "Ya could just move to the SIDE if you wanted to pass me!"

"Sorry sweetie, but I find this much more amusing!" Vanellope said with a cackle, this time managing to veer Rancis off to the right, the boy holding on for dear life.

Back at the finish-line, the crowd was in a fever pitched as they watched the battle between Rancis and Vanellope. Never before had they seen the two race like this!

At least one that didn't involve King Candy.

Needless to say, Taffyta and Swizz were stunned.

"GEEZE, ya think Nelly is keepin' score on how many people she can wipe out?!"

Outside the game, Moppet and her friend were just as shocked, if not more. The two were now trying their best to untangle each other but no matter what they did, it only seemed to make things WORSE. Moppet tried using one of her powers up, Sugar Springs, to bounce off of the front end of Vanellope's kart but since the back tires were no longer touching the ground, what little she could do was bounce the front end of Rancis' kart up and down. Needless to say, Rancis was NOT happy being tossed around like that and he held onto the steering wheel with all his might as not to get flung out.

"I-I-I-I-I'M A RACER! N-N-NOT A B-B-B-BULL RIDER!" Rancis screamed, not caring if anyone heard him at this point.

"Did….my character just talk?" asked Moppet.

"Er, maybe it's a special feature?" replied her friend.

The finish-line was so close but there was no way Vanellope was going to let Rancis win, especially since as he was riding on top of her kart she was more or less PUSHING him in front of her.

He just had to go.

"Sorry Curly-Q, but I need ta lighten the load!" Vanellope said as she moved off to the right, causing the end of the Sugar Springs to get caught in the guardrails. Rancis let out a scream as he felt his kart being pulled backwards and yanked off of Vanellope's.

"HOLY CRUMB CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKES!"

"RANCIS!" screamed Taffyta as she and Swizz looked on in horror at the massive crash but of course, they weren't the only ones who were stunned.

The two girls watched in complete shock as Rancis was sent flying off to the right and rolling into a large jaw breaker, ejecting him through the wafer gates and FINALLY landing into a lake of chocolate pudding with a large SPLAT.

Moppet blinked twice, letting go of the steering wheel, "I'm not sure whether to be scared….or to be amazed because that was the coolest crash I have ever seen!"

"GAH! HOLD ON!" yelled the other player, trying to regain control over Vanellope.

The little racer grunted a bit as she managed to regain control and wasted no time in blasting ahead of the others, crossing the finish line in record time, the few remaining racers following her.

"VANELLOPE VON SCHEETZ WINS!" yelled the announcer as the crowd went wild! Taffyta and Swizz looked at each other for a moment or two and then rushed off to the crash site to aid Rancis.

"Is this….a regular feature in this game?" asked Moppet's friend as she let go of the steering wheel.

"Not that I know of!" said Moppet "Unless….ya wanna play again?"

Moppet's friend shook her head quickly, "Oh no! I mean…er, it was a nice game an' all but I think I've had enough action like that for a day!"

The girl then jumped for her seat, looking around the arcade franticly, "L-let's play somethin' a bit more relaxin'! Like THAT!" she said, heading towards Fix-it-Felix Jr.

As the two girls made their way to the other games Taffyta and Swizz arrived at the crash scene, running past the tangled, melted mess that was once Rancis' car finding the racer still face down in the pudding lake.

"RANCY! You okay?!" screamed Taffyta, hoping that the worst had not happened.

A few bubbles plopped on the surface of the lake and Rancis raised his head, showing both his friends a look that wasn't of hurt or pain but rather annoyance.

"Yeah…." Rancis said gruffly "Nothin' make my day like being thrown face first through a gate and landing in PUDDING! It's SO good for the skin!"

Rancis then stood up in the thick slop and trudged back to the winners' circle, dreading what the sticky stuff would do to his hair. The other two ran back to Vanellope who was holding what had to be her 20th first-place trophy of the day, lavishing in the attention she was getting from the crowd.

"Aww, sweet glory. Ain't it grand?" Vanellope cooed at her trophy as she then kissed it a few times.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Taffyta asked as she approached her friend.

Vanellope smiled as she stretched her arms a bit, "I'm MORE than alright! I've never been this pumped in my life!"

"Yeah, that's good an' all but…but did ya REALLY hafta be so brutal with Ranics back there?" asked Taffyta, placing her hands on her hips "I mean, ya almost took the control out of the players hands with that move!"

"Hey Taffya, all's fair in races an' Sugar Rush!" Vanellope replied with another laugh.

"Sure, right…." Said Taffyta, a little miffed at the way Vanellope took so little concern in the other racers "Ya know the rules though. We gotta let the gamers use our powers during arcade hours! We can't do it ourselves!"

Vanellope groaned, not in the mood to hear Taffyta's nagging "I know, I know but what's the fun in that?! I mean, the PLAYERS seemed to enjoy it an' isn't that ALSO our job?"

Taffyta was ready to reply when the familiar sound of the quarter alarm ran out, everyone running to get back into their places.

"QUARTER ALERT! QUARTER ALTER! ALL RACERS TO THE START!" blared the announcer over the intercom.

"Oop! Time for another race!" Vanellope said excitedly as she ran towards her kart "Ya gotta learn ta lighten up, Taffy! It'll make your roots turn RED!"

And with that Vanellope sped off to the starting line, leaving a rather stunned Taffyta alone in the winners circle. She scratched her head as she watched Vanellope drive off, her mind still in a bind on what to think of everything what was going on. It wasn't the fact that Vanellope seemed more energetic than usual that bothered her. It was just that she was being so reckless during races, especially when she knew that doing so could be dangerous for the game.

What was causing Vanellope to do this, especially when everyone knew that Vanellope cared so much for Sugar Rush. She would NEVER put it in danger like this and then excuse it as 'fun'.

"What in the world is goin' on here?"

As the countdown began, Vanellope watched the strawberry racer return to her seat. A warm smile crossed her lips as she watched her friend.

"Poor Taffy. I don't know why she's so worried 'bout me! I can take care of myself!"

Vanellope then looked at herself in the side mirror, noting her bangs were a little messy. She brushed them aside but she couldn't help but to chuckle, her smile becoming a bit more cheeky.

"Yeah Taffy….if there is anyone you should worry about…it's YOU!"

THREE!

TWO!

ONE!

Vanellope slammed on the gas, blazing ahead of the other racers unaware that a certain racer was watching her from afar.


	7. Chapter 7- Shattered

Chapter 7- Shattered

It didn't take long for word of the insane races to go around the arcade and soon several off-duty NPCs and other characters were making their way to Sugar Rush to view the events for themselves. It wasn't as if they wanted to see if Vanellope was being as 'aggressive' as people said she was; for a lot of them, they just wanted a chance to see just how brutal Sugar Rush could be and have a good laugh at the same time.

By mid-evening, the game was more packed than ever before with NPCs and the crowd was more excited than ever. They wanted to see more races. Sugar Rush had become a circus and people were hungry to see more.

Taffyta on the other hand was getting a little concerned; although she LOVED the attention and would consider something like this a welcomed sight, she was just a little worried about how rough things were getting on some of the racers. Many of the racers hadn't respawned yet so a lot of them were more than a little black and blue. Some were so bad that they had to be replaced by other the racers for the remaining hours the arcade would be open. As Vanellope crossed the finish line in first place again, Taffyta dashed to the circle, waiting for the others to return. This time, the only ones to come back were Candlehead, Snowanna, and Gloyd, the others having been thrown off at some other point in the race.

"Wow! I'm surprised you guys made it back in one piece!" Taffyta said as she stopped in front of Snowanna's kart.

"You're not the only one!" Snowanna said, shaking her head "Did you see the way I almost missed being thrown into Rock Candy Cavern?! Had I not powered up with the Ice-Slick, I would have been a goner for sure!"

Taffyta turned, catching a glimpse of Vanellope who was once again being praised for winning. The strawberry racer couldn't help but admit that while she was happy that Vanellope was enjoying her time in the limelight, it was just the way she was acting that sent a shiver down her spine. She couldn't put her finger on it exactly but Vanellope's behavior was that of a slightly held-back King Candy; not as random, not as overly egotistical but there was that glint in her eye and tone in her voice that reminded the girl of the former ruler.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Get it together girl!" Taffyta said to herself "There's no need to bring THAT nightmare back!" The racer then returned her focus on the rest of the gang, "So how many of us are left?"

Snowanna looked off to the side as she watched two more racers pull in unscathed, "With those two, there are only four of us left! I don't know if we can fill the roster!"

"Don't worry about it!" Taffyta said reassuringly "It's almost closing time so there's only time for one more race if that anyone comes by at all!"

"But who will fill in the spots?" asked Candlehead, a little worried at the thought of the game not having enough racers to compete.

"Let's see, counting you an' me…that's two. Then there's Gloyd an' Snow, four. Vanellope makes five. If Nougestila and Sticky are still up for it, that's seven."

Taffyta then turned towards the crowd before whistling up at the two remaining racers "Yo! SWIZZ! MINTY!"

"Yeah?"

"We need ya !There's some spots open!"

Minty punched a fist in the air, wasting no time in just leaping from her seat and running to the garage to fetch her car. "Aw YEAH! 'Bout time I got off my butt!"

Swizz followed close behind but he turned, giving Taffyta an unsure look.

"Ah, ya think this is a good idea?" he asked, scratching his head.

"What else can we do?" the strawberry racer shrugged, going off to get Pink Lightening.

As Taffyta had predicted, there was one more race that night and it was going to be a doozy since the last two players if the night had chosen Vanellope and Taffyta as their avatars.

"Well, this should be interesting…." Taffyta murmured to herself as she put on her helmet, making a passing glance at Vanellope who was positioned next to her. The ruler of Sugar Rush was surprisingly excited when she saw Taffyta, any sort of aggression she previously had gone. Vanellope ran right up to Taffyta and embraced her tightly, nearly picking her off the ground.

"OH, last race of the day! AND WE GOT PICKED!" Vanellope giggled.

Taffyta let out a gasp, surprised at the sheer amount of strength in Vanellope hug, "Y-yeah! Don't take me out before the race begins, though!"

"RACERS, TO YOUR MARKS!" said the announcer. Vanellope then let go of Taffyta before running off.

"Whoop! Wouldn't wanna get this off ta a bad start!" the raven-hair racer said energetically "See ya at the finish-line Taffy!"

Taffyta managed to muster up a smile but in the back of her mind, she still didn't know what to think.

"Hopefully, I won't get wiped out by way…." The racer said, getting into her kart.

"Well, look who's gettin' into tha race!" cackled a familiar voice.

"Oh, c'mon!" Taffyta growled as she looked up and saw the faces of the two NPCs that had been bothering her, once again seated for another viewing of the race.

As if she didn't have ENOUGH to worry about already! The last thing she needed were those two making snide remarks about her driving!

"I thought ya didn't make it into this roster, Pinkie!" cried the first NPC.

Taffyta smirked as she reeved up her kart, "What can I say? I can't stay away from a race!"

The second NPC crossed its arms, returning the sneer "We'll just see how long ya last in this one! Vanellope's won every single race tonight! I doubt your skills will be able to break that!"

"Pffft, if she HAD any!" cackled the second NPC.

Taffyta gripped the wheel of her kart tighter, her anger rising.

"Don't let 'em get ta ya Taffy! Just concentrate on gettin' tha player from start ta-!"

"Hey, the race hasn't even started yet ladies! Ya might wanna keep your mouths CLAMPED until someone's ACTUALLY crossed the finish line!" rang the voice of Vanellope Von Schweetz.

Taffyta turned around, surprised to see Vanellope glaring up at the NPCs from her own kart; thankfully, the two were smart enough to keep silent when Vanellope was speaking.

The raven haired racer turned back to her friend before giving her a wink, "There's always fans that are more nutty than others."

"Er, right!" Taffyta said as she nodded, a weak smile on her face.

Taffyta took another look at Vanellope; maybe she was being a little paranoid about what was happening.

"Are ya excited or WHAT!?" Vanellope laughed, unable to even keep still in her seat.

Taffyta nodded, giving her friend a broad smile "Aw come on, ya know I'm always excited for a race!"

Vanellope reeved up her engine as the count down began, "Then this is somethin' ya should REALLY love, sweets!"

Three!

TWO!

ONE!

As the light went off, the racers all flew off, Vanellope taking the lead once more! Seeing as her actions were being controlled by the racer this time about, Taffyta had a harder time seeing if Vanellope was trying to fight against her own player. At first, things seemed to be going about as they should but when everyone rounded Crumbling Cookie Curve….

"WATCH OUT!" shouted Snowanna, pointing up towards the falling crags of cookie boulders.

The other racers split down the middle, allowing for both Vanellope and Taffyta to take the lead, Taffyta trailing behind slightly. Vanellope looked back at her friend and gave a laugh.

"'Bout time ya caught up!"

Taffyta sneered, gripping onto her steering wheel "Looks like the players are getting' SERIOUS this time!"

Vanellope turned her focus back on the road, her smile growing wider "Oh, they have no idea how serious things are gonna get!"

And with that Vanellope once again began to drive against the actions of the player, making a sharp weave in front of Taffyta and succeeding in making her lose course a bit.

"WHOA!" the strawberry racer cried, waiting for her player to regain control over her kart.

Outside, Vanellope's player was having even worse luck as he was unsure what to do at the moment. He held the wheel to the left but no matter what he tried, he could feel Vanellope pulling back against him.

"Aw, don't tell me the game's busted!" he said, turning the wheel back and forth in vain.

"Alright, Nelly…what do you have up your selves THIS time?" Taffyta hissed through her teeth, watching Vanellope blast ahead.

The group of racers rounded the turn, some power-ups waiting for them. Vanellope licked her lips, clutching the wheel even tighter.

"All right, come ta mama!"

Vanellope let the player regain a bit of control, guiding them just enough that she plowed right into the power-ups to activate them.

COOKIE CUTTERS!

Vanellope looked down as she was armed with several heart-shaped iced cookies, all seemingly harmless enough but everyone in Sugar Rush knew what damage they could do.

"BWHOA! EVERYONE HIT THE DECK!" Snowanna cried as she and the rest of the racers maneuvered themselves to make themselves harder to hit.

The player hit the horn, causing one of the cookies to launch back towards the other racers. The first one went right for Candlhead but the girl managed to maneuver out of the way in time, the cookie instead hitting Snowanna's kart instead. The racer gave a cry as she lost control, spinning right into a marshmallow wall and becoming stuck fast once the heated fluff began to melt around her.

"Hehe, I guess that little doofus is a lot more sneaky than I first thought…." Sneered Vanellope as she waited for another chance to strike.

Outside, the player hit the horn again and another cookie was launched; this time hitting Nougelstia who lost her control and slammed into Sticky, causing both girls to more or less barrel-roll into each other before coming to a stop. Sticky managed to crawl from the wreck to help Nougelstia, looking on in awe as Vanellope speed away.

"Holy COW-TAILS! I've never seen her punch it like that!" cried Sticky, watching the ruler blaze past her.

Vanellope was beside herself in happiness as she watched the racers fall back one by one.

"I have a few more cookies left…." She snickered "Who'll be NEXT?"

The racer took a glance in her mirror, seeing that Taffyta, Swizz, and Candlhead were right on her tail.

"Aw perfect! Just tha sitting ducks I was lookin' for!"

This time, Vanellope didn't wait for the actions of the player to call the strikes as she launched the cookies right at the group. The first missed its intended target but the second managed to knick Taffyta's front wheel. Taffyta gave a scream as her kart lurched a bit but thankfully the candy wheels weren't too damaged to prevent her from continuing. Taffyta's player however was a little less than happy at being at the receiving end of the attack.

"HEY!" cried the Taffyta player "Cheap move!"

"I-I didn't do that!" said the Vanellope player, removing their hands from the wheel for a moment in a poor attempt to regain whatever control they had over the game.

Three cookies flew through the air towards the other racers and like always, they tried their best to avoid them. Vanellope growled in anger; she didn't like it when she missed. Not in the least.

"Maybe I underestimated 'em…." Vanellope said to herself "But that still doesn't mean I can't lick 'em!"

Vanellope once again took full control over her actions, lowering her speed and moving right along side Swizzle, inadvertently letting Taffyta take the lead.

"HEY! VANELLOPE!" cried Swizzle, a little shocked to see Vanellope falling back "What the heck are ya doin'?!"

Vanellope grinned as she aimed her cookie shooters directly at the side of Swizz's kart, "Just thinnin' tha herd!"

Before Swizz could even move, Vanellope launched another round of cookie cutters at the boy, succeeding in shattering the left tires. The boy gave a shocked cry as he felt the underbody of his kart SLAM onto the pavement at great speed, screeching as sparks flew everywhere.

"O-O-O-O-KAY! I-I-I-IS TH-TH-THIS P-PAYBACK FOR S-S-SOMETHIN'?!" he yelled, his teeth chattering from the vibration. Swizz knew he was out of the race at this point and planned to just turn into one of the service lanes but to his surprise Vanellope moved all the closer to his kart, keeping it in motion and making it move faster!

"V-VANELLOPE!? WHAT ARE YA-!?"

Taffyta let out a gasp as she watched Vanellope force Swizz back, aiming him right for the edge of the high cliffs.

"VANELLOPE VON SCHWEETZ, ARE YA NUTS?!"

"Don't worry guys! He'll pop back up once its over!" Vanellope said sweetly, pushing Swizz even closer to the edge.

Taffyta was helpless; she could only watch as Vanellope edged Swizz closer towards the end of the cliffs. If only she had been picked to play, she could actually do something but she knew it was against the rules of the game to fight against the player.

As if that had stopped Vanellope of course….

What to do? WHAT TO DO?!

"GAH! CANDLEHEAD!" cried Vanellope.

Taffyta made a quick glance in her mirror to see Candlehead coming up from behind Swizz. Considering that the road they were on was so small, the candle-headed racer had no choice but to come so close towards the two. At this point, Swizz was sandwiched in-between both girls but to his surprise, Candlehead's actions were actually keeping him SAFE seeing as Vanellope now had less control over his kart.

"WILL YOU MOVE IT, YA DUNCE?!" scream Vanellope as she hopped back to the wheel.

"I-I-I CAN'T!" yelled Candlehead, being as careful as she could not to cause a roll out with all three.

"Fine! Then I'll just have to cut off some extra weight!" hissed Vanellope as she launched the remaining cookies towards those behind her. This time, Swizz's right front tire was taken out, making the situation even more dangerous as he skidded in-between Vanellope and Candlehead. Candlehead looked around frantically to see if her kart had been hit but thanks to its shape and size, the cookies only stuck out from exterior, their damage minimal. She let out a heavy sigh and wiped her brow but as she did…

The familiar sight of her candle blew past her eyes. She looked up in the review mirror to see that one of the cookies HAD hit a target and unfortunately, it was her candle.

"MY CANDLE'S CUT!" the girl cried out in despair.

Swizz saw the opening of the tunnel coming up. He then turned towards Candlehead, "C-BUTT! I need ya ta do somethin'!"

"Li-like what?!"

"I NEED YA TA LET ME FALL!"

"WHAT?! NO!" cried Candlehead, horrified that Swizz wanted to let him drop.

"JUST DO IT!" Swizz bellowed in anger, his face turning red.

"I CAN'T!" Candlehead screamed, refusing to let her friend fall.

Taffyta was still in the lead, watching the entire scene unfold behind her.

"Nelly, what are ya doin'?! Ya know this is insane, even for this game!"

The four racers were inching closer to the tunnel and there was no time for Swizz to unwedge himself from his block. Vanellope gave the racer a quick grin as she shifted over to the right, moving behind Taffyta.

"See ya Swizz!" she said in an unsettling sweet tone, waving before taking hold of the wheel.

Swizz was stunned but upon seeing the wall coming up, he knew he had no choice. He knew Candlehead didn't have the heart to force him off the road so this was something he was going to have to do himself.

"Well, it's not like this is the first time I've taken a dive like this….."

Swizz then took his wheel and forced a heard left, freeing himself from Candlehead's front bumper but also flinging him right through the guardrails off the cliff.

"SWIZZLE!" Candlehead cried in horror as she watched Swizz's kart sail from the formation and into the deep forest of candy-cane trees, a loud crash heard only a moment afterword.

"I hafta admit, this is one heck of a show!" they said, staring agape at the massive crash about to happen.

Taffyta's player continued to drive, looking a bit desperate now that they were alone, "Hey-! Don't leave me here!"

In the heap of broken branches and overturned roots, Swizz's kart laid in a smoking, broken heap but thankfully, the racer was more shaken and stirred than anything else. He pulled himself from his overturned vehicle, looking up to see just how far he had fallen. He placed a hand to his aching head, shaking it a bit.

"Whoa…that's how this cookie crumbles!"

"THAT PUN WAS LAME, SWIZZ!" screamed Minty at the top of her lungs, speeding along in fourth place.

Swizz could only stand in awe as he watched the racer blast by; he didn't know what to be more afraid of at this point, Vanellope or Minty!

"I KNEW she had ears everywhere!"

And then there were five.

Taffyta lead the charge with Vanellope close behind, followed by Candlehead with Gloyd and Minty tied for last. The group were putting the pedal to the metal as the neared the finish-line. Vanellope could just TASTE another victory but she knew she had to thin out the competition.

"I'm all outta power-ups…." She thought to herself "But who's to say I can't uses what's around me to shake off these guys?"

Vanellope then began to speed up, coming up from behind Taffyta.

"Havin' fun?" Vanellope cooed.

Taffyta give her friend a quick glance but it was obvious that she did not want to talk to her.

"Aw don't be that way! You're actin' like you've never been thrown off a cliff before!" Vanellope said tartly, obviously trying to irritate the racer next to her.

"I wanna have a lil chat with ya later!" Taffyta finally responded, her voice gruff.

"That's fine but lemme win this race first!" Vanellope said just as she slammed into the said of Taffyta's kart.

"VANELLOPE!" yelled Taffyta in anger.

"What?! I'm just playin' tha game!"

"YOU'RE-! YOU'RE PLAYIN' AGAINST THE PLAYER!" Taffyta yelled, allowing her player to realign her to the track.

"Against? I don't see it like that!" Vanellope said as she gave Taffyta an offended look "I see it more as, giving 'em a little help!"

Vanellope then gave Taffyta another bump, hitting her so hard that the racer was now driving in the path of some winter-mint bushes. Taffyta screamed as she tried to regain control but she remembered that she had to let the player make the change for her but at this point, she was so out of bounds she doubted that there would be time to recover from the jolt. The strawberry racer scrambled for control but as she was just about make a turn, she heard a cackle from behind her. She looked only to see Vanellope laughing hysterically and coming in for another hit. Taffyta gasped and braced herself for the hit but what happened next shocked her.

Just as Vanellope prepared to hit Taffyta again, Candlehead came speeding up from behind, ramming the back of Vanellope's kart. The racer gave a cry of shock as she felt the back end of her vehicle leave the ground.

"URGH! STOP DOING THIS!" bellowed Vanellope.

"O-oh, I'm SORRY Nelly but ya ran inta ME!" Candlehead yelled, her anger finally boiling over.

Vanellope reeved up the kart, trying desperately to regain control but with the angle she was in, the couldn't find the friction or speed she needed. Candlehead had her hooked and what was worse was that without any control, Vanellope was swerving back and forth. As all of this was going on, Taffyta's player finally managed to steer her out of the bushes and back on the track, right into the heat of the action.

"Okay, if this isn't proof that Nelly has FINALLY gone loopy, I don't know WHAT is!" Taffyta said to herself, trying her best to avoid another collision on the tracks.

"DARN IT!" the raven racer screamed as she tried with all her might to unhook herself. She then turned back towards Candlehead, daggers in her eyes. There was NO way she was going to let Candlehead rob her of the last victory of the night and if she couldn't win….

Then no one would.

"Well, if tha little dummy won't let go….then I guess I'll have to FORCE her!"

Vanellope reached for her stick and slammed it down to reverse before upping her speed, forcing Candlehead back. The candle-headed racer screamed as she felt herself moving backwards, trying with all her might to stop the force that Vanellope was delivering to her.

"Vanellope, STOP!" Candlehead cried, looking back to see that she was getting dangerously close to Gloyd and Minty.

"Sorry, but ya brought this on yourself SWEETS!" Vanellope said with a cackle.

Taffyta could only look in awe at what was unfolding before her; in the fifteen years she had been racing, she had NEVER seen such cut-throat maneuvers like this and what made it all the more shocking was that Vanellope was the one doing the maneuvers! Taffyta knew she had to do something in order to prevent another crash but WHAT? She was still under the control of the player and thanks to Vanellope's want to take out Candlehead, she was in the lead!

Taffyta could win!

But was it going to be worth it?

But she couldn't go against the player's actions!

But Candlehead needed help!

But she could finally shut those NPCs up!

The finish-line was so close. All she needed to do was cross.

"PLEASE STOP!"

The sounds of Candlehead's voice only made Taffyta feel worse but she knew what she had to do. It was going against EVERYTHING she was for but….

"I know I'm gonna regret this…."

And with that, Taffyta simply let go of the wheel to her kart, allowing it to spin out of control and run directly into Vanellope.

"HEY! WHAT THE-?!" screamed the player outside, not expecting to lose control at the last second.

The girls screamed as they made impact but the force was just enough to dislodge Vanellope off of Candlehead and both she and Taffyta were sent spinning in opposite directions, allowing Candlehead to cross the finish-line first, Minty and Gloyd following behind.

"CANDLEHEAD IS THE WINNER!"

With the race over, Taffyta returned her grip on the wheel and tried to regain control of Pink Lightening but she was traveling too fast at this point to do anything. Her kart continued to spin past the finish line and right into on the stands, candy people running and screaming as the kart launched them into the air. Taffyta let out a heavy groan as she finally came to a stop, grateful that she managed to do so without wiping out TOO badly.

"At least THAT'S over…." She said, moments before her bubble-gum airbag exploded in her face.

Back in the arcade, the two players looked at themselves for a second before turning back to the screen.

"Did that-?"

"Yeah."

"Did they-?"

"Mm-hmmm!"

The first player slowly got out of the seat, backing away from the game as if it were going to attack them.

"Maybe my sister was right! This thing IS possessed!"

Back inside the game, the crowd was cheering for Candlehead but it was obvious the girl was more preoccupied on the condition of her friends than about winning first place. As soon as she saw Taffyta coming up in the crowd, the candle-headed racer just threw her trophy over her shoulder, not seeing that it had hit a spectator in the face.

"TAFFY! TAFFY! Are ya alright?!" asked a frantic Candlehead, wasting no time in wrapping her in a tight hug.

"MMPH! Yeah, I'm fine but-! I'm worried about Vanellope though! Have ya seen her?!"

"What about me?" rang the familiar voice of the Sugar Rush ruler.

All feel quite when Vanellope arrived, a few chocolate branches and mint leaves stuck in her hair. It was clear from the look on her face that she was NOT happy. Of course, Taffyta was less than pleased as well and before anyone could say anything both girls marched up to each other, rage going through both of them.

"WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?!"

"WHAT ARE YA TALKIN' ABOUT?!"

"YOU DROVE LIKE A MANIAC!"

"IS IT MY FAULT THAT YA CAN'T KEEP UP!?"

The crowd could only watch as the two continued to bicker at each other but after so much screaming, Candlehead couldn't take it anymore. She ran in between the two, pushing them apart.

"STOP! STOP! STOP! " the racer screamed, looking at both her friends in disbelief.

Taffyta growled as she grabbed onto Candlehead's arm, "C-Butt, outta my way! I gotta teach the President a thing or two!"

Vanellope scoffed as she threw down her helmet, "Teach ME a lesson?! Okay, blondie, bring it on!"

Candlehead let out another scream, "Will you two STOP it?! You're supposed ta be FRIENDS! Is this how friends treat each other?! HUH?!"

Taffyta looked back at Vanellope, realizing that Candlehead was right. She then stepped back, her fingers pressed gently on her temples.

"O-okay, okay. Maybe I did let things get outta hand back there…." Taffyta said, trying her best to calm down.

Candlehead nodded and then turned towards Vanellope, seeing that the Sugar Rush ruler still looked rather upset. A warm smile on her face, Candlehead placed a gentle hand on Vanellope's shoulder.

"Come on Nelly. Ya know nothin' good comes from bein' angry like th-!"

"Oh get off of it without your stupid chatter!" Vanellope roared, scaring Candlehead that she jumped back.

"I-I was just tryin' ta help…." Candlehead said rather weakly, afraid that she had made her friend even angrier.

"Help?! Ya know what ya can do ta REALLY help? How about shut your mouth?!"

Candlehead stumbled a bit, nearly falling into Citrusella and Jubileena "N-Nelly, I just-!"

"Oh looky me! Mah name is Candlehead!" Vanellope said in a mocking tone "My head is SOOO full of parties an' sunshine but too bad I don't have anything else, like BRAINS!"

Candlehead shivered a bit; she knew when she was being insulted.

"V-Vanellope, that's not funn-!"

"Maybe if I was smart enough, I'd know when to keep my mouth shut and not annoying Princess Vanellope!"

Candlehead's eyes began to gloss over as her lips quivered. Before anyone could say anything, the poor girl burst into tears and darted from the crowd.

"Oh, C-Butt! Come back!" Jubileena said as she ran after the little racer.

Taffyta turned back to Vanellope, stunned to see that the other racer had not a single look of remorse on her face.

"Vanellope, how COULD you?!"

"What? Tha lil air-head needed a wake-up call, especially with tha way she was drivin'!"

Taffyta growled, confronting Vanellope once more "HER drivin'?! I think the only person who's been havin' issues with driving is YOU! You've been knocking us around all week with your kart!"

"Well, is it MY fault that I have to deal with such LOSERS on the track?!" Vanellope roared, pushing Taffyta back.

A gasp rang out in the crowd as the racers looked in utter shock at what their leader had told them. They hadn't been this surprised since Vanellope threatened to cut off their heads once they had been freed from Turbo's control.

The only difference between that and now was back then, Vanellope was only joking. She meant no ill will towards her friends.

This time however they could tell she was one hundred percent serious.

And it hurt.

Taffyta stepped forward, a scowl etched on her face.

"Losers? What do ya mean by LOSERS?!"

Vanellope returned Taffyta's scowl, getting so close to her their noses almost touched, "Maybe I should say it in a language that's easy enough for someone like YOU to understand! You guys? You're BELOW me! Not only do I hafta put up with your lack in skill, I hafta put up with the fact that I HAFTA work with ya guys or else the game wouldn't work! Do ya REALLY think someone of my caliber would stick ta drivin' with KIDS like YA?!"

There were a few snickers in the midst of the crowd as some of the non-Sugar Rush NPCs were finding this fight rather hilarious.

"Well, she does have a point…." Said one.

"Vanellope WAS programed to be the best of the bunch!" said another.

"I always knew these kids were jealous. It's about time someone told them off!" said another.

Taffyta looked from the corner of her eyes, seeing some of her friends lowering their heads in shame as the insults continued to fly towards them. She then looked at Vanellope, the girl grinning at her smugly. What hurt the most is that Taffyta remembered that look; it was the same look that she always gave Vanellope back when both girls were torn apart by King Candy's rule.

It was something she hopped she would never have to relive again.

And yet, there it was. Looking her right in the face and it even worse, it was coming from the one person she felt she had the most trust in. The strawberry racer felt of a twinge if tears forming on the side of her eyes but for the sake of her fellow racers, she remained strong. She once again approached Vanellope, trying her best not to let her anger show.

"Vanellope….I'm sorry ya feel that way but….but-" Taffyta just didn't know what else to say and she cursed herself because of it. On any other day, she might have been able to retort Vanellope's insults but for some reason, she just could not find the words.

"Don't act all innocent on me Taffyta Muttonfudge! We all know you're the WORST of the lot!" Vanellope roared in anger, Taffyta jolting in shock "I know your game! Did you really think that after fifteen years, I would let my guard down around you?!"

"Vanellope, stop."

"Ever since tha reset you've been kissin' my butt like tha lil brown-noser ya are!"

"STOP IT!"

"Ya did it with me before, ya did it with King Candy, so I shouldn't have been surprised that ya would try to pony your way by actin' sweet around me again! An' for what?! Ta cover up the fact that you're jealous that I'm better than you!"

SLAP!

You could have heard a pin drop at that moment as everyone in Sugar Rush just stared at the scene that unfolded.

Vanellope stumbled back as she felt the stinging pain of Taffyta's hand as it slapped her hard on the cheek. She blinked, stunned that the other racer would strike her. All eyes fell on Taffyta, the racer's face turning as red as the strawberries she represented.

"How…DARE YOU!?" Taffyta said, her voice low and quivering "How DARE you say that about me! ABOUT ALL OF US!"

Taffyta felt her entire body shake as she glared at Vanellope; she just could not believe that this was happening.

"I-Is that really how ya see me?! IS IT?! I-I know I treated you horribly when King Candy was in charge but does it mean NOTHING to you that we were under his control?! DOES IT?!"

Taffyta then turned towards the other racers, seeing the looks of shock on their faces.

"We all feel HORRIBLE for what we did to you! We can never get back those fifteen years….But are you telling me that you felt that that short moment when things were real, when NO ONE was pulling the strings…they were FAKE to you? You've NEVER seen us as friends?! Never at all!?"

Vanellope could only look in shock as she continued to hold her cheek, any and all words failing to come through. Taffyta was on the edge of tears, unable to take any more hateful words from the person she once considered a friend. She reached up and took off her helmet before giving Vanellope a serious look.

"If that's the way you feel, if that's REALLY the way you feel-! Then-!"

Everyone started back at Taffyta, just awaiting for the next move. The racer gritted her teeth in anger as she shut her eyes, tears streaming down her face. She held up her helmet but then threw it to the ground in rage.

"Then…I QUIT!"

Rancis was nearly knocked off his feet when he heard Taffyta's declaration "What?!"

"Y-You heard me! I QUIT!" the strawberry racer said as she looked at the others before turning back to the still flabbergasted Vanellope. "What does it matter?! There's PLENTY of other LOSERS for you to race against right?! Who the heck is going to miss me on the roster?!"

Vanellope reached out a hand to Taffyta, shaking a bit as well "T-Taffyta, wait! I-I didn't mean-!"

"You DIDN'T mean?! YOU DIDN'T MEAN?! I think ya meant EVERY word that came outta your mouth, PRINCESS VON SCHWEETZ!"

Taffyta then ran towards her kart, wasting no time in turning it on and making her way towards the exit. Several of the racers ran beside her as they attempted to stop her from leaving.

"Taffyta, no!"

"Don't do this! You don't know what you're sayin'!"

"Oh, I know what I'm SAYIN'!" Taffyta growled, reeving up the engine and causing the others to scatter. She then turned once more to see Vanellope standing in the crowd, her eyes looking right at Taffyta. Unable to take it, Taffyta looked away and sped off.

"A-are you alright, Nelly?" asked a frantic Rancis, a little nervous to put a hand on the racer. Vanellope held out a hand as she began to walk away.

"I-I'm….I'm fine…" she said in a thin voice, making her way to the garage.

Once Taffyta was a good distance away from the track, the little racer pulled over on the road. She just couldn't take it anymore. Alone from everyone else, Taffyta broke down in tears, her cries filled with regret.

"I'm sorry!" she said to herself, as if she hoped Vanellope could somehow hear her "I'm so, so, SORRY!"

As Taffyta continued to cry, she began to realize that this is Vanellope had felt all those years ago when she had pushed her away. Was this retribution for her actions? Taffyta couldn't even think straight to consider whether she deserved it or not but all she knew was that in that split second, she had destroyed something she had held so dear.

She had just destroyed her friendship with Vanellope.

"I'm sorry for what's happened Princess…." mumbled Sour Bill as he walked up to Vanellope, the young girl slumped on her throne, an annoyed look on her face.

"It's alright Bill…." She sighed, wincing once as she felt the sting of her cheek "Maybe I did cross the line a bit back there…."

Bill coughed a bit, turning his head away from the ruler; a BIT? Sour Bill had watched everything unfold since Monday and even he felt that Vanellope was acting out of character but being the candy-man he was, he just went with the motions of things along with the rest of the racers. After seeing Vanellope and Taffyta fight though, he knew he had to say something, even if it meant reprimanding the young ruler.

"Um, your highness…."

"Yes?"

"Er, perhaps you should consider some of the actions you've been making this past week…"

Vanellope snorted a laugh as she looked down at Bill, her eyebrows arching "Actions? You mean like winnin' every race I've been in?"

Her face then turned sour as she remembered the race she had lost only an hour ago.

"Well, 'scept for ONE but we shall not talk about that…."

"As I was sayin', may I suggest that you consider the consequences of some of your actions? You're being a little more than rough on the other racers and a lot of the players are starting to avoid the game since you're taking control away from them!"

Vanellope giggled, draping her legs over the side of the chair "Oh Billy, you're just like that silly Taffyta! Always worryin' 'bout things that will never happen!"

By this point, Bill was more than concerned with the way Vanellope was responding to him. Not only did she show no concern over what she was causing but she was also reacting to the way he was addressing her rather oddly as well.

Since when did Vanellope NOT correct anyone when they called her Princess?

"Perhaps you are right PRINCESS but if I might suggest something?"

"You may…."

"Maybe you should have a talk with young Muttonfudge? You two parted on such bitter paths. I would hate to see you two remain angry at each other….."

The young girl opened her eyes and sighed heavily, a look of guilt coming across her face.

"Yes, you are right Bill. But right now, I am tired. Let's invite her over in the morning, shall we? An' tell everyone else I will be out of the roster tomorrow!"

Bill bowed as he made his way out of the throne room, "Is there anything else you need, PRINCESS?"

"Could ya get me an ice-pack?" Vanellope winced as she placed a hand gently on her still aching cheek "It's been about an hour since Taffyta laid one me an' it STILL hurts!"

Sour Bill nodded as he then scuttled out the room, leaving the young ruler by herself. Vanellope then got up and walked over to one of the mirrors in the room, looking at the large red mark on her face. She winced again as pain shot through it.

"Who would have thought such a pansy could do such a thing?" Vanellope said to herself, shaking her head.

She took a deep breath as she placed a hand on the mirror, trying her best to gather her thoughts.

"It's no bother. I can't let anything like this slow me down! I have things to do!" the raven-haired racer said proudly, puffing her chest out.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

"I mean, this game NEEDS me!"

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

"It's so wonderful! So bright! And on top of that, there's so much energy here!"

THUMP THUMP! THUMP!

"Tasty….TASTY energy…." Vanellope hissed as she licked her lips but as she did, the figures on her face began to change; her teeth became sharper, her tongue longer and black, her eyes more sharp. One would have expected the reflection in the mirror to change along with her and it did….but it did not match the same features that were presented before it. In fact, the reflection in the mirror resembled more of an angry Vanellope.

The REAL Vanellope!

"LET ME OUTTA HERE YA SLIMY FART BRAINS!" the reflection yelled, banging on the surface of the glass. The 'Vanellope' before it gave a slight chuckle as she placed a finger daintily on the surface.

"Oh, don't tell me you're gettin' restless…" she cooed.

"RESTLESS?! I'LL SHOW YA RESTLESS!" Vanellope screamed as she began to kick at the mirror but to no avail; the glass was just too strong. Watching this, the imposter shook her head, once again laughing at the futile attempts of the racer before her.

"You're wasting your energy PRINCESS. If I were ya, I'd be EXCITED?"

Vanellope placed her hands on the glass, pressing her face against the surface, "E-excited? What do ya mean?!"

"Soon, VERY soon, you'll have others in there with ya, so ya won't be lonely anymore!"

Hearing this, Vanellope felt her blood boil. She balled her tiny fist as she glitched in place, wanting nothing more than to burst through the glass and show the imposter what happens when they mess with Sugar Rush.

"If ya do so much as touch ONE hair on their heads, I'LL-!"

"Sorry, can't hear ya! Maybe ya should step out from behind the glass!" chortled the imposter, giving Vanellope a teasing look. Its mood then turned, becoming much angrier as it approached the mirror once more.

"You should be thankful I didn't eat your corrupted data earlier but what-OH-luck! Being the main character in this lame game, you have PLENTY of codes in that thick skull of yours that I need! I'll hang on ta ya….."

The doppelganger licked her lips teasingly, the very sight making Vanellope's blood curdle.

"But that Muttonfudge character….she seems tasty…." Sneered the imposter "Maybe I should devour her first. I mean, what would be the lost really?"

"NO! DON'T!" Vanellope cried, trying desperately to glitch out of the glass but to her horror, she found she could not.

"Ah-ah-ah. Don't waste your energy like that kiddo…" hissed the imposter "I like my meals to be filling, not drained!"

The doppelganger turned on her heels, walking daintily towards the chamber doors.

"Now if ya excuse me, I wanna get a good night's sleep before I have my little meeting with Taffyta…", her voice just dripping with honey and poison "Sweet dreams, PRINCESS."

The doors to the throne room slammed shut, leaving Vanellope alone and trapped within her glass prison.

Where was a giant wrecker to break the glass when she needed him?

"An' ta think this all happened because I wanted ta give my friends a PARTY…." Vanellope said gloomily as she sat on the ground, her back facing the mirror.

Despite the situation, she knew she had to do something; everyone in her kingdom was in danger and they would be counting on her once the cat came out of the bag. Who knew what the monster was planning to do in the next few hours but considering that it had HUNGER on its mind, Vanellope knew that things were going to get very ugly, VERY fast.

For so many years Vanellope had always managed to put up a brave front when faced with adversity but this time around, she was lost with what to do. Not only was the outside world unaware that there was an imposter on the loose, but seeing as the imposter had HER face, who knew how many people she could fool. They were being lead into the jaws of the beast and the thing that hurt Vanellope so much was that it was her form that was being used to lead everyone to their doom.

There was only one thing that the raven-haired racer was sure of and that was this;

Thanks to the imposter, Vanellope Von Schweetz had been shelved.


	8. Chapter 8-Reflections

Chapter 8- Reflection

The sunrise in Sugar Rush is always a sight to see. The bright orange glow always seemed to wake up everyone that it shines upon, filling them with the energy they need to make it through another busy day in the arcade. One racer however wasn't up for the sunrise. In fact, one racer felt so awful she didn't know if she would be able to make it out of bed.

"Urrgh, I feel TERRIBLE!" moaned Taffyta, her entire body feeling as if it had come off the effects of a massive sugar high. Of course, the culprit of the racer's gloomy feelings weren't sugar.

Oh, how she WISHED it were only that.

Taffyta still felt sick from the aftermaths of the argument that she had with Vanellope the previous day. All night long, she had tossed and turned in her bed, wondering just what to do.

Should she apologize? Even if she did, would Vanellope accept it? It wasn't like Vanellope didn't have reasons not to trust Taffyta anymore.

She did have fifteen long years of torment at the hands of the strawberry racer under her belt and for a lot of people, that was more than enough to consider ANY type of friendship over.

Taffyta didn't even care if her racing career at this point was in the air; racing may have been in her code but what does hopping in a car and speeding around mean if you couldn't do it with your best friend? She stared up at the ceiling, the rays of sun pouring into her room. She groaned again as she rolled under the covers, trying her best to force all the negative thoughts out of her mind.

"I gotta get some sleep…" she grumbled, pulling the covers tighter "Maybe….maybe if I just take a nice nap...then I'll be able to…"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Darn it.

Taffyta grabbed a pillow and placed it over her head; she was not in the mood for this.

"Awww, c'mon! Can't a girl get some SLEEP!?"

"Taffyta? Taffyta, are you home?" called a deep voice from the other side of the door.

Sour Bill?

Taffyta sprang out of bed and made a mad dash to the door. If Bill had come all the way to her house THIS early in the morning, she knew something was up!

Something with Vanellope…

Taffyta flung the door open, nearly falling back as she did so "S-Sour Bill?! What's wrong?! Vanellope is okay right?! I'm not in trouble am I?!"

"Vanellope is fine…." Bill mumbled as he looked up at the racer "But she wanted me to come and get you. She says she wants to talk to you as soon as possible."

Uh-Oh.

Taffyta gulped; she KNEW she was in trouble now but considering all that had happened the day before, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. She knew she deserved whatever punishment she THOUGHT she was going to receive. Letting out a sigh, the racer slumped on the door, rubbing her temples.

"Shudda seen this comin'….." groaned Taffyta.

"Er, Ms. Muttonfudge…."

"Tell Nelly, I mean the President, I will be there as soon as I clean up! I doubt she would want to see me like…" Taffyta looked at herself in the mirror. Even she had to admit she looked worn out "Well, like THIS!"

Bill nodded before turning and making his way back to the castle, "Just don't take too long. When I left, Vanellope was really worried."

"Worried?" Taffyta said, blinking twice "Worried about WHAT?"

"About YOU of course…" Bill responded, giving the racer a rather confused look.

Vanellope was actually WORRIED about her, even after what had happened the day before?

Taffyta had to take a second to rethink the moment. She was afraid that Vanellope had summoned her to punish her for her actions but to hear that the leader of Sugar Rush was actually WORRIED about her sent new things through her mind. Some of the weight began to lift off her shoulders but at the same time she still knew that things weren't all rays and sunshine.

She still had to go see her friend.

"Tell Nelly not to worry another hair on her candy-coated head!" Taffyta said, running off to wash up "I'll be there faster than lightening!"

"The Princess will see you now…." said one of the royal guards as they opened the door to the throne room, Taffyta walking in daintily. Near the end of the room, the racer could spot Vanellope, looking into the mirror beside her throne.

"President?"

Upon hearing her title Vanellope trembled and turned, giving Taffyta a deeply worried look. Taffyta was a little shaken herself; she had never seen Vanellope so upset before.

"Did...did we do some bad things yesterday?" Vanellope asked innocently, her hands behind her back.

There was an awkward silence in the room. It was as if both racers wanted to apologize to each other but neither knew exactly what to say. They stood a great length from one another and for a while, it was hard for either to look at each other in the eyes. Despite having come to the castle feeling strong and ready to talk, Taffyta found herself tongue-tied once she saw that she wasn't the only one who had been up all night worrying. She removed her cap, wringing it in her hands.

"W-Well….I, er, I don't know if I would call it bad or…."

"Horrible?" Vanellope finished, her foot digging into the carpet.

Silence.

The two racers looked at each other again, finding their words gone once more. Knowing that it would be best to break the ice, Vanellope let out a heavy sigh and walked over to her throne, flopping on it gloomily, "Ya know, I've been thinkin'….."

"Yeah?" Taffyta said, looking up at her friend.

"I've been thinkin' maybe I HAVE been a lil crazy out there on the track…."

"Er, crazy is ONE way to put it…." Taffyta said softly, trying her best not to sound TOO smug.

"Noooo! I'm SERIOUS!" Vanellope said as she jumped out of her seat and ran up to a shocked Taffyta "I don't know what got over me! I should have known better but…but somethin' came over me!"

Vanellope then spun around and walked back over towards her mirror, pulling down on her eyes a bit and seeing just how red they were from her unrest.

"As soon as I got back behind the wheel, I just HAD to take over! I didn't want anyone else to get the better of me!"

Taffyta approached her friend, placing a hand on her shoulder "Take over? What do you mean?"

"First it was Turbo, then it was that stupid virus! It's like I can't escape ANYTHING!" Vanellope growled, balling her tiny fist "The track was the only place where I felt like I was in complete control over everything but….but I let it get outta hand…."

Vanellope shook her head, lowering it as she looked down at her feet, "Taff, listen. I know….I know I've been actin' out but had my brain not been in jerk-mode, I would have NEVER done or said those things to you an' the gang! You guys are my…my FRIENDS!"

The racer then looked at Taffyta, her eyes misting over with tears, "Especially YOU, Taffy."

Taffyta then began to put everything together; despite all the smiles and the smugness that Vanellope put forward, she was still afraid. The effects of being separated from her game and her friends still had a horrid effect on her and the latest incident with the viruses had only made it worse. All at once, Taffyta felt a massive wave of guilt flood her.

Here she was, thinking that Vanellope had snapped and had turned into just as much as an egomaniac as King Candy when in truth, she was still hurting inside.

And what she had done last night hadn't helped in anyway.

Once again, Taffyta had failed to come to the aid of her friend and once again, she was proving those other NPCs correct; it was as if she was useless.

But she couldn't be! Not anymore.

This time, she would be there for Vanellope.

Taffyta reached out and held Vanellope's hand, trying her best to calm her down.

"Hey, come on. It's not as if what I did was any better!" Taffyta said, trying her best to smile "I had no right to hit you and….and…."

"And?" Vanellope said, blinking in confusion.

Taffyta sighed heavily, letting go of Vanellope's hand. She then bowed before her leader, her head hanging.

"And I accept whatever punishment you have for me…."

Vanellope jolted a bit as she looked back at Taffyta, seemingly surprised that the racer was ASKING to be punished. A little giggled escaped from Vanellope's lips and that giggle soon grew into an uproarious laugh. Taffyta looked up, wondering just what in the world her friend found so funny.

"Wow, you really know how to take one for the team!" Vanellope said, wiping her eyes.

"Er, not really…" the strawberry racer replied, blushing a bit, "If ya recall LAST time, I wasn't this dignified when faced with punishment!"

"Ah bah bah bah! That's all in the past!" Vanellope said, patting her friend on the head playfully "But one thing I want to make certain now is that…well, that you trust me. I mean, I just wanna know if I didn't scare ya away with the way I've been actin'!"

"Oh, NO!" Taffyta said, shaking her head "Nelly, listen! After all that's happened to you. After all that's happened to US, I would NEVER abandon you when you needed it!"

Before Taffyta could respond any further, she felt herself being gripped into a tight hug, squeaking a bit as she almost lost her balance.

"Good!" Vanellope said cheerfully, hugging Taffyta even tighter "It's nice ta know that someone will always be here for me!"

"Why wouldn't I?" Taffyta said with a smirk "What, don't tell me you're still worried about something!"

Vanellope returned her glance to the mirror, primping her hair a bit.

"Oh, I always worry! I mean, bein' a princess is SUCH a huge responsibility!"

"Er, ya mean PRESIDENT right? Or…prince-es…Princpessecid….whatever that thing C-Butt calls ya!" Taffyta said.

Vanellope did not take her eyes off the mirror or herself, her somewhat clouded on the surface of the mirror.

"Mmm. Yeah….all of those things!"

Taffyta then saw a smile appear on Vanellope's face from the reflection, "Tell ya what. Why don't I take a few days off an' YOU can be the Prince-es-ident for a while!"

Taffyta jumped back in shock. Even though she knew that technical she was the next person in line to rule the game should something happen, the last thing she expected was that Vanellope would WILLINGLY ask her to take over the duty. She blushed a bit as she placed a hand on her chest.

"W-what, ME?" stuttered the strawberry racer "Oh come on babe, I can't-!"

"A'course ya can! Its always what ya wanted, isn't it?" Vanellope said with a sweet smile.

"Weeeell, not really. Racin's my thing, not bein' whateverthatwordCandleheadcallsya…." Taffyta said, placing her cap back on her head.

Vanellope took taffyta by the hand and took her over to the mirror, "Come on! Look at this face! Ya can't tell me this isn't the face of a leader!"

Taffyta looked at herself in the mirror, feeling a strange sense coming over her. She felt her pride grow as she struck a powerful pose.

"Hmmm, maybe you're right! I COULD be a great leader! I mean, I AM on the cabinate!"

"Of course, of course!" Vanellope nodded, a smile on her face "Ya've always had somethin' that caught my attention! Power, grace, energy!"

"Energy?" asked Taffyta looking over at her friend.

"Yes, energy. Energy is important. It's the very thing that keeps this game, an' US, goin'!"

Taffyta looked deeper into the mirror, her thoughts becoming a bit clouded over as Vanellope's words began to echo in her brain. A goofy grin spread on her face as she swayed a bit.

"Y-Yeah. Energy. Energy is good….."

"Will ya help me get energy?" Vanellope whispered into Taffyta's ear, her voice dripping with honey.

"S-sure….Anything for my BESTEST friend." Taffyta said, spots forming in her eyes.

"Will you let me take YOUR energy?"

Taffyta felt as if she were floating in midair, as if her head were above the clouds.

"S-Sure…." The racer then looked back at the mirror, seeing her reflection starting to fade a bit "Anythin' for you V-V-Vaneeeee-"

Taffyta's eyes the caught a glimpse of something in front of her; as her own reflection started to fade, it looked as if it were being replaced by…

Vanellope's?

But how was that possible?

Taffyta looked again, noticing that the Vanellope that stood in front of her looked panicked, one hand pressed hard against the other side of the glass while the other was pounding on the mirror.

"TAFFYTA! TAFFYTA! DON'T LET HER GET YOU!"

"W-What?"

"ITS NOT ME! ITS NOT ME!"

Taffyta stared at the figure, her eyes widening in shock just as the hold she was put under broke. She let out a gasp as she turned around, starting at the other Vanellope in fear. The Vanellope before her continued to grin, looking as if nothing had happened.

"Why Taffyta, what's wrong?"

Taffyta backed away a bit, finally realizing just what was happening.

"W-Who are you?" Taffyta asked, her voice shaking a bit.

Vanellope took a step forward, a creepy smile still plastered on her face, "Okay, enough jokes Taffyta! You're actin' as if you've seen a ghost!"

"I might as well have!" Taffyta yelled, looking more angry by the second "An' I think that GHOST is standin' right in front of me!"

Vanellope's smile twitched on her face as she glitched in place, leaping forward and grabbing Taffyta's arm hard. The raven-haired racer's eyes were down to pin-points as she glared at Taffyta.

"Taffyta. Don't do this. You said I could trust you! You just said that!"

"I said I could trust VANLLOPE!" Taffyta screamed, trying her best to wriggle free "But you aren't Vanellope!"

The figure then let go of Taffyta's arm, letting the girl fall rather hard on the floor. The strawberry racer managed to scrabble back on her feet but found herself trapped by the figure as it had cleverly backed her against the wall. The figure slammed its hands against the wall, causing the other girl to cry out in fear.

"Come on. You know nothin's wrong! Its just me!"

"Like FUDGE it is!" Taffyta finally said, smacking 'Vanellope's' hands away from her and making a mad dash towards the door. The figure let out a little yelp but Taffyta knew it was only continuing it act. It then turned to see Taffyta struggling to open the doors but to no avail.

"Nice try sweets…" cooed the figure "But I knew you'd try something like this.

The other racer felt her blood run cold, realizing that she was trapped in the throne room with this doppelganger. Taffyta jumped out of the way just as 'Vanellope' plowed right into the spot she once was, hitting the doors with enough force that Vanellope's tiny hands went right through them. Despite having missed her target, the figure continued to laugh.

"Slippery lil thing aren't ya?!" the figure hissed as she glared at Taffyta again "Keep it up kiddo! I LOOOOOVE a good chase before a meal! It only makes my appetite stronger!"

Taffyta backed away from the figure, making her way back to the mirror as she saw Vanellope's reflection appear on the glass once again.

"Tell me you know what's goin' on!"

"Yeah!" Vanellope said angrily "Ugly-Double over there swooped in an' took my place, that's what!"

"Do ya have any suggestions on how to fight you! I mean, HER?!" Taffyta said, keeping her eyes on both the encroaching figure and her trapped friend.

Vanellope was at a lost and even more upset that she could do nothing to help her friend.

"Yeah! Just grab something blunt an' heavy an' HIT IT!"

Taffyta let out another scream as the figure leapt towards her but she moved out of the way quick enough for it to land right into another wall. Taffyta ran over to the throne, looking for anything she could use to defend herself against the unknown assailant.

"Ya know Nelly, it would have been nice if ya kept a candy GUN in here or somethin'!" Taffyta yelled.

"THIS ISN'T HERO'S DUTY! I DON'T HAVE GUNS COMIN' OUT THE WAZZO!" Vanellope replied in annoyance as she hit the sides of her glass prison again.

In her desperation, Taffyta yanked off a large piece of candy cane from the throne, swiping it at the double.

"Unless ya wanna be knocked out, I suggest you BACK OFF!"

The double blinked at Taffyta, as if it couldn't believe that she thought a piece of CANDY would be able to defend her. It once again began to chuckle and that chuckle soon grew into a hideous laugh.

"Oh! OH! You crack me up, Sweets! I dunno whether to eat ya or save ya for entertainment!"

"Save THIS!" Taffyta said, her face red with anger as she took a swing.

Unfortunately, even as it was laughing, it seemed that the figure knew exactly what moves Taffyta was going to make and as the cane was swung at its head-

KA-KING!

It caught the cane in its hands effortlessly. It sneered up at the horrified racer, its teeth growing sharp.

"Like I said, you're a riot!"

The figure then spun the cane in its hand, twirling Taffyta along with it before tossing it up to the ceiling. Taffyta cried out in pain as she hit the ceiling and fell back to the floor in front of the creature's feet but before she had time to recover, she felt herself being pulled back up again, the double having taken her by the collar.

"So much trouble, over nothin'!" the double said in a rather condescending tone "Why even fight? Ya know it's not worth it!"

Taffyta tried her best to wriggle free from the double's grip but it was just too strong, "I-I'm not gonna let some FAKE take over our game! Not AGAIN!"

"Yes, AGAIN!" snapped the double, giving Taffyta a rather violent shake "I'm well aware of the lil exploits that happened in this game before I showed up here and I for one, wanna see if I can finish whatever this King Candy fellow didn't!"

The double gripped its hands around Taffyta's neck tightly, the little racer gasping for breath as she struggled in vain to free herself. Back inside the mirror, Vanellope was so filled with rage she was throwing herself against the glass but again, nothing could be done to break it.

"YA FREAK! LET HER DOWN!"

The double let out a chuckle as it looked over at Vanellope as if it found some sort of pleasure in her suffering.

"Aw, how cute. She wants ta get out!"

The doppelganger waggled its fingers at Vanellope, not even taking a break to loosen its grip around Taffyta's neck.

"Don't worry! You'll get out soon enough!"

The figure then returned its gaze at Taffyta, giving the girl another hideous grin, "But before I do, I need a lil SSSSSSNACK!"

Taffyta opened an eye just as the 'Vanellope' before her began to transform; her skin began to turn a molted greenish color, black splotches dotted here and there. Its eyes turned yellow, its limbs began to stretch and elongate. The once rounded features of Vanellope became much more jagged and sharp and the hands that held Taffyta aloft felt colder and their grip only became worse, chocking the racer even more. Taffyta wanted to scream at what she saw but was unable to, her tiny legs kicking in the air. The horrible creature brought the racer closer to its face, its fangs dripping and its eyes cutting into Taffyta's very code.

"I know I promised that I would save you for last….but I changed my mind!" hissed the figure as he held Taffyta above its gapping mouth, its teeth appearing even sharper than before. Taffyta looked down and gave a horrid yelp. She once again tried to fight for freedom but the grip was too strong.

This is it….

This was how it was going to end.

Even if things were going to end this way, at least she had had a few months of happiness before things turned dark again.

Taffyta closed her eyes, feeling tears streaming down her face as she prepared for the inevitable. She heard the real Vanellope pounding on the surface of the mirror, screaming as loud as she could.

"TAFFYTA!"

Taffyta managed to gulp and prepared for the end.

"STOP!"

The virus turned just in time to see a green flash of light coming right for it and before it could react any further-!

BAM!

The monster gave out a horrid cry as it stumbled on its feet, dropping Taffyta to the ground. The racer looked about only to see, of all people, Sour Bill running towards her.

"BILL?!"

"Ms. Muttonfudge, are you alright?!"

"I-I think I alr-!"

"URGH! WEAKLING!" roared the virus as it got back in its feet.

Taffyta let out a gasp as the virus stood before her but before she could even turn to run, Bill leapt out in front of her., shielding the racer.

"RUN!"

"But I can't leave-!"

"RUN!" shouted Bill as he made another dash towards the virus, leaping up and giving it another good whack on the jaw.

Taffyta turned to run out the chamber doors but she remembered there was one other person in the throne room.

Vanellope!

Forgetting the danger she was in, Taffyta ran back towards the mirror, pressing her hands against it.

"We gotta get ya outta here!"

"But how! I can't even break it from the inside!" Vanellope said desperately.

"There's gotta be some way!" Taffyta said as reached once more for the candy cane she had used to defend herself with.

"Taffyta, don't!"

Taffyta swung as hard as she could but no matter how many times she hit the mirror, it would not break. After the third hit, the candy cane shattered in her hand. Panting in exhaustion, Taffyta tried using her own fist and feet to break the mirror but it was no use. Vanellope pressed her hands from the other side but she could only watch in agony as Taffyta hurt herself in her desperate attempts to help her.

"Taffyta, it's no use!"

"No! IT has to work! IT HAS TO!" Taffyta yelled, tears going down her angry face "IT HAS TO!"

"Isn't this heart-wrenching?" rang a familiar voice.

Taffyta turned quickly to see the virus looming behind her but what was even worse was what the figure was holding in its hands.

"BILL!"

Clutched in the claws of the monster was a haggard Sour Bill, the poor candy man beaten to exhaustion, a few cracks and chips in his shell.

"I-I'm sorry girls…" he gasped, hanging limply in the virus' hands.

"I will admit, of all the games I've destroyed, you guys are putting up a better fight than others!" the virus hissed, drawing back a hand as if it were going to hit Taffyta with Bill.

Both Vanellope AND Taffyta gasped as they ducked for the impact but rather than coming in contact with the virus face-to-fist, the monstrous creature chucked Sour Bill towards the mirror. Taffyta felt her heart skip, dreading the moment when Bill would impact with the unbreakable surface and shatter but instead of shattering, Bill seemed to be absorbed by the mirror!

"What…the-?!"

As Bill crossed over to the other side of the mirror, he crashed right into Vanellope's middle, making her fly back a few good feet. It didn't take too long for the girl to recover and despite what was happening around her, she was beside herself when she saw that Sour Bill was still alive.

"Bill! Oh gob, you're okay!" Vanellope sobbed, clutching onto Bill.

"J-just barely…." The candy man managed to say in-between hugs "But now what?!"

"WHAT NOW?!" cackled the virus as it pressed itself on the mirror "NOW I GET TA EAT YOUR PRECIOUS FRIEND IN FRONT OF YA!"

"Don't you even dare!" Vanellope said, running up the mirror

"Oooh, but I do! An' it will be a treat not only to have something fillin' ta eat but also ta see the look on your faces when I do this pink brat i-!"

BAM!

The virus gave out a great cry of pain as it fell forward. As Vanellope and Bill looked up, they saw none other than Taffyta standing behind it, holding a large peanut brittle bust in her hands.

"Okay, I'm sure THAT was hard enough!"

"Taffyta, ya gotta get help!" Vanellope yelled frantically.

"I know THAT! I'll get the others to!"

"NO! Its too dangerous for 'em!" Sour Bill said, leaping on top of Vanellope's head.

"What?! But we have strength in number an-!"

"And this thing was able to take out all three of us for a moment!" Bill finished, dread on his face.

"O-Okay, good point but what do you want me to do?!"

"We need heavy artilarry for this…." Vanellope said, rubbing her chin.

Both girls looked at each other, their brains thinking the exact same thing.

"Calhoun?" said Taffyta.

"Who else."

The strawberry racer then took off for the door, "Just sit tight Nelly! Help will be here faster than Sonic on a cola binge!"

"It's not like I have a choice in goin' anywhere!" Vanellope said, pressing her hands against the glass as she watched her friend escape.

As soon as the racer slipped out, the virus began to come to again. It growled in pain as it held its aching head but once it saw that its third prisoner was nowhere to be seen, it let out a horrid cry.

"ARUGH! LIL RUNT!"

It then glided over to the windows, seeing the racer bolt from the front doors. The virus cursed to itself as it slithered back towards the mirror, glaring at Vanellope and Bill. Vanellope stood her ground, pushing Bill behind herself to protect the little man but to her surprise, the once angered look on the virus' face began to fade, showing its 'friendly' side once more.

"Oh, there is no need for that Princess…." It cooed, its finger gently scraping against the mirror.

"Back off fart-breath! You're actin' cocky now but ya won't be smilin' once back up arrives!"

"Ya mean IF it arrives…" the virus replied, arching its eyebrows "I wouldn't depend on the pink canker as far as I could throw her…."

Vanellope growled, balling her fist "Then ya don't know Taffy like I do!"

The virus then slithered to the throne, making itself comfortable as it studied its sharp nails, "Child, I know more about these people you call 'friends' then you think I do."

The virus then turned its head back towards its two prisoners, an unstable smile splitting on its face.

"But ya wanna know what I DO know? What I DO know is that this TAFFY is gonna make a fitting meal for my little soldiers!"

Vanellope's skin turned pale as she felt a chill go up her spine; there were MORE of these things around?!

The virus chuckled as it put its hands behind its head, letting out a relaxed sigh, "What? Ya think I didn't have back up EITHER? Surly you jest!"

"GOTTA GO FAST GOTTA GO FAST!" Taffyta panted to herself, running as fast as her little legs could carry her "I can't let Nelly down this time!"

Taffyta's feet felt like they had wings as she rounded the corner, moving so fast that she nearly slid into the wall of the castle. Regaining her balance she moved towards the round-a-bout where she had left her kart.

"Just gotta get to ol' Pink an' things should be fine from th-!"

As soon as she was about to move towards the round-a-bout, she was met with a horrible sight; there in front of the castle gates was Pink Lightening, just where she had parked it but it was now being swarmed by what seemed to be a dozens of candy citizens, the little people tearing every last part off the kart and tossing them every which way!

"What in the world are they-?!" Taffyta blurted before silencing herself, not wanting to catch anyone's attention.

As the racer looked closer, she noticed that there was something out of place about these candy people; almost all of their color had been drained from them, leaving them as former shadows of their usually bright and cheery selves. Their movements were erratic and glitchy but most noticeable of all were their eyes!

Their eyes were the same placid and sickly color as the virus!

But what had happened to them?!

Taffyta ducked around the corner, her brain going a million miles a second as she put everything together.

"Wait…didn't Sgt Calhoun mention something about two of her soldiers becoming infected when they came into contact with the viruses in the cord?!"

Aw, CRUMBS.

She should have known that the virus would have infected a few people before springing into action!

Taffyta felt even more dread, realizing that the virus was doing even more damage than she first thought; an infection had already began and it was only a matter of time before everyone in Sugar Rush would become viruses and after that…..

Unplugged.

No, not that again!

There was no way Taffyta was going to let her home be threatened again, especially when this time around, Vanellope wasn't around to help everyone.

At this point in the game, everything relied on her but what could Taffyta do? Without her wheels, she couldn't make a speedy dash to GCS and if she even attempted to make her way to the village, the viruses would only follow her and spread the infection faster.

If the kids couldn't fend of Cybugs, things that were programmed into a game, what chances did they have against REAL viruses!?

Nonetheless, she needed to warn the others.

She reached into her pocket, pulling out her cellphone quickly typing up a message.

"Hopefully I can-!"

Just as Taffyta punched in the final number, the phone began to short-circuit! She let out a startled cry as she dropped her phone to the ground, the device sparking and smoking all before going out all together. The shocked racer looked down, seeing an error message coming up on the screen.

"Ya can't tell me…."

"Sorry to inform ya sweets…." Hissed the voice of the virus on the other end "But I just can't have ya callin' up people ta ruin mah FUN! So for the time being, I made sure that any communication device in this cavity dump was, oooh, outta order? Just a low-level thing ta do before I move up to the big guns!"

Great, now all communication was gone so Taffyta couldn't warn anyone if she wanted to! She looked over to the distance, seeing the rainbow bridge leading up to the exit. It was much closer to the village but at the same time, she had remembered Vanellope's orders.

What could she do? She couldn't just ABANDON her friends but at the same time, I she didn't make the split for it, she couldn't inform Calhoun of the take over and she knew that she could REAL put a ringer on the virus!

Taffyta clutched her head as every thought and every consequence began to fly through her head.

A horrid scream then jolted her out of her thoughts. She looked up at the castle, seeing the form of the virus fly around the throne room as Vanellope and Bill screamed in horror.

Sweated beaded from her skin at the very thought of what was happening and all at once she knew what she had to do.

She had to get Sgt. Calhoun.

"Okay Taffy, I know we're not built for runnin'….but this is one dash ya GOTTA make!"

The racer crept from the front of the castle, making sure that none of the guards or the other candy people saw her. Once she was a good distance away, she began to hurry towards the rainbow bridge as fast as she could.

"This-this isn't so bad!" Taffyta said to herself, hoping that she wouldn't run out of energy any time soon. Taffyta looked off into the distance in front of her, seeing that the bridge looked to be getting closer but just as her hope was starting to rise…

"MUTTONFUDGE!"

The poor girl didn't even have a chance to turn and look to see who had called her when suddenly, she found herself being thrown to the ground by a great weight. She cried out in pain as her face hit the dirt, her arms pinned behind her. She groaned in anger, turning her next back enough to see that one of the doughnut cops had tackled her and just like the candy people, it showed signs of being infected.

"G-GET OFFA ME!" Taffyta screamed, trying to free her arms from under the weight.

"B-B-BY ORDERS OF P-P-P-PRINCESS V-V-VANELLOPE!-" the doughnut cop bellowed, its corrupted code causing it to glitch horribly.

"It's not Vanellope! It's some sort of-!"

The cop lifted the racer off the ground rather roughly and prepared to make its way back to the castle, "Y-Y-Y-YOU ARE HEAR BY ORDERED FOR D-D-D-DELETION!"

Taffyta's eyes sprung open as she heard her sentence, her heart pounding in her chest. She once again tried to free herself but the cop was too strong! She couldn't move!

"LIKE FUN YOU'RE GONNA DELETE ME!" Taffyta cried, thrashing around even more violently.

"D-D-DON'T FIGHT. D-D-DON'T FIGHT. D-D-DON'T FIGHT." It repeated, static and error signs flashing in its eyes.

If there was one thing Taffyta wasn't, that was a quitter. She KNEW that no matter what, she had to continue fighting, even if it meant playing dirty.

"Sorry big fella, I know you're not a bad guy!" Taffyta said to herself, losing one of her boots "But there are some orders I CAN'T go with!"

With that, Taffyta launched her left boot into the face of the doughnut cop, hitting him right between the eyes and hard enough to stun him. The doughnut let out a pained howl as it fell to the ground, losing its grip on the racer who darted off without thinking twice or even going back to retrieve her lost boot.

"I should have known things weren't gonna be this easy!" Taffyta mumbled to herself as she continued running.

Just as she was getting closer to the bridge, a large explosion rang out, nearly knocking her off her feet again. The racer turned back just in time to see a large gathering of infected citizens coming up right behind her, all infected, all angry.

All hungry.

The group of monsters tore after the girl but she somehow managed to keep a nice distance between herself and her pursuers, though she knew it was going to shrink if she ran out of energy.

"Oh, this is bad! This is REALLY bad!" Taffyta said, forcing herself to run even faster despite that she was quickly running out of breath.

A blast of virus-coded whipped cream shot beside her and one quick glance at it showed the girl that it was capable of corroding anything that it came into contact with, including herself!

"This would be SO much faster if those lil boogers hadn't eaten my KART!" Taffyta screamed, her entire face turning red in anger.

The racer made a quick turn down one of the hidden groves of the path; it would divert her from her trek to the bridge but it was the only way she knew she could be safe from of the infected people. The path was just too small for some of the larger people to go through but it was just the right size for her to sneak off to and hide.

Unfortunately, it was also the perfect size for the SMALLEST of the candy people to run into as well.

The racer ducked behind a bush, watching as the candy viruses stumbled through the brush, looking more and more hideous by the second. Taffyta shuddered as she hid again, making sure she didn't make a peep a not to be spotted.

"Well, smarty. What next?" she said to herself.

Taffyta looked around, realizing that she was near Cotton Candy Cove, one of the well-known areas of the race course.

Well know because there were so many power-ups hidden within the large puffs of spun sugar.

An idea hit Taffyta like a ton of bricks; she knew what she had to do.

Meanwhile, the restless mob continued to tear their way through the area in search for the racer but they came up with nothing. Their newly reprogrammed minds wouldn't allow them to give up search however as the only thing they could even think about was finding and destroying Taffyta for their source.

"Taaaaaffytaaaa Muttoooonfudgeeee…." They droned, tearing up anything that got in their paths.

In the midst of the search, a small peanut butter cup girl noticed something sticking out from one of the cotton candy clumps.

Taffyta's trademark cap!

The girl snarled as she scampered over to the finding, ready to sink her newly formed fangs into the racer but just as she opened her mouth.

"POP ROCK!" cheered the familiar voice of the power-up announcer!

Before the candy girl could move, the cap seemed to EXPLODE, raining down a flurry of Pop Rock shrapnel on anyone who was hapless enough to be nearby! Taffyta on the other hand was five yards away from her cap and once she saw an opening, she took it! Off she dashed for the bridge, carrying a small array of power-ups with her.

"Good on and off the track!" the racer snickered to herself as she made her way up the bridge.

As the cloud of Pop Rocks began to fade, Taffyta didn't notice that the candy viruses had taken yet another step in their transformation, becoming even larger and stronger than they were before. The pop rocks no longer hurt them but instead, it angered them and seeing the young girl darting up the bridge didn't help. They let out a roar as they jumped in the air, swarming towards the girl like a hoard of killer bees. Taffyta noticed the dark cloud coming from the corner of her eye but she had no idea what she was in store for next.

"H-Hey, what the-?!"

The group then SLAMMED into the bridge, each one trying to get at Taffyta but in their mad rush, they all piled on top of each other, missing the frightened girl by mere inches. She stumbled on her feet as she continued up the bridge, turning once to thrown another power up at the group.

"STICKY-WICKET!"

The power-up bounced at the feet of a small clump of viruses before exploding into a large orb of sticky caramel.

"HAH! COMPLIMENTS OF TORVALD!" Taffyta laughed as she continued on.

The chase continued right up to the top of the bridge but once there Taffyta realized something; she had just lead the entire group of viruses to the exit of her game!

"Aw, FUDGE!" she yelled, looking down to see the masses coming right up to her. She stalled, trying to come up with a quick plan on how to get rid of the bunch but before she could do anything else, she found herself being attacked by the smaller candy viruses.

They pinned her down to the ground, pulling her hair and scratching her arms and legs as they drug her off the bridge. Taffyta screamed at the top of her lungs, thrashing about in a vain attempt to free herself but at this point, they were just too strong. They began to pry the power-ups out of her hands, consuming them right in front of her. The girl managed to turn around, seeing the exit of the game getting further and further out of reach as she was being carried to who knew where.

No.

She couldn't let it end here!

She just couldn't!

Taffyta felt a large burst of energy fill her, remembering the looks that Vanellope and Sour Bill had given her just before she escaped. In her rage, she kicked the candy viruses away, scrambling back on her feet and struggling to make it to the exit. The viruses of course fought back, trying to hold her down but even they were surprised at her strength.

"Taffyta Muttonfudge doesn't give up!" the racer growled, crawling and clawing her way back up the bridge.

Taffyta stuck her hand in her pocket, digging around and pulling out another power-up before tossing it back towards the hoard.

"RED HOT!"

The power up activated, exploding into a bomb of blistering hot Red Hots. Any virus who was in close range was hit, howling in pain as the cinnamon candies burned their skin and eyes. Feeling their grip weakening, Taffyta jumped up and dashed towards the exit!

But unfortunately for the girl, she did not notice the small taffy kid hanging onto her jacket.

The taffy virus snarled as it clutched onto Taffyta's leg and before the girl knew what was happening, it sank its fangs into her legs.

Taffyta let out a horrid cry of pain as she fell forward, the pain shooting to every inch of her body. She shook as she held herself, looking back to see the taffy viruses still gnawing at her flesh. An angry scowl came on the girl's face as she kicked it away, the thing flying right off the edge of the rainbow bridge. She then looked down and to her dread, she saw that it had bitten hard enough to draw blood.

"N-Not good…" Taffyta said, feeling a bit ill.

Another quake of pain hit the girl and she let out another painful moan. Even crashing her kart didn't feel this bad!

"W-What's happening?!" she chocked, her voice becoming more hoarse.

Her bones began to ache as they began to shift over to a corrupted form, the infected data flowing inside of her turning her into a virus! The girl looked at her hands in horror as she saw them turn pale and sharper in shape.

And to think she feared winding up as virus chow. THIS was 100 times worse! Now she was becoming part of the very problem that could doom Sugar Rush!

But she couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let her friends down!

She was going to fight it!

Taffyta struggled to get to her feet but found that as the virus coding quickly took over she was losing control of her own body. It wanted to follow the program it was given but as she still had most of her mind left, she forced herself to move forward, lurching to the train.

"G-GOTTA get outta-DESTROY SUGAR- here!" Taffyta blurted, glitching every few seconds.

She turned around, seeing the viruses coming back towards her up the bridge.

"C-Can't l-let'em-CONSUME- get me h-H-H1001001110-!"

Taffyta collapsed on the trolley, kicking the side of it to activate it. It chugged to a start and began to take off but the viruses were still coming. The girl gritted her teeth in pain, the virus programming becoming too much for her to bear at this point.

"1010101001110!"

Glitching and twitching, Taffyta reached into her pocket and pulled out the last of the power-ups. Hopefully she had enough strength to chuck it at the viruses but at this point, she could barely move on her own. Her hand shook horribly as she held the thing up, ready to throw.

"H-H-101010-ope ya like it!"

Taffyta then threw the final power up at the hoard of oncoming viruses.

"BRAIN FREEZE!"

The item exploded, engulfing the entire lot of the monsters in a thick, unbreakable block of ice and thanks to the sudden blast of cold and the extra weight that was now on the bridge, the candy that made up the thing began to give way. It crackled a bit before completely shattering under the weight, not only sending the viruses back down into the cove but also preventing anyone else from crossing the bridge to the trolley station.

Taffyta managed to give a smile as she looked back but another wave of pain reminded her of how much danger she was in. The trolley sped its way down the power cord and into Game Central Station where the girl only hoped that she wouldn't run into any more trouble.

~~Meanwhile, in Fix-it-Felix Jr.~~

"Ya know, it's nice to see a night where the sky is clear…." Calhoun said as she looked up at the bright stars "It might be night in my game as well but it's so dark and dreary. Never the type of night that you would want to spend with a loved one…."

Felix giggled as he snuggled up closer to his wife, giving her a loving peck on the cheek "I'm just glad you're finally relaxin' Tammy. You've been so caught up with all this virus stuff that, well, I was just startin' ta get worried that it might drive ya up tha wall or somethin'…"

Calhoun smirked as she gave Felix a playful punch in the arm, "Hey! I'm a big girl! I can take care of myself!"

Felix smiled as he rubbed his arm, not wanting to show his wife that she HAD hurt him a tad, "Ah know, ah know! But ya-!"

Calhoun then scooped Felix up, holding him off the ground with a cheeky grin "'Ah' what? AH don't spend enough time makin' ya all honey-glows?" she said playfully, rubbing her nose to his.

Felix chuckled goofily as he reached out and embraced Calhoun, "Come on Tammy. We're on the front lawn…."

"I won't do THAT much…." Calhoun replied, returning her cheeky grin to her husband.

The two embraced in a passionate kiss, the problems of the arcade becoming nothing to them in that moment.

Everything was so peaceful.

Everything was so calm.

"OH MY PROGRAMERS!"

Felix and Calhoun jolted up in shock at the sudden shout, looking everywhere for the source.

"Was that one of the ladies?!" Calhoun said.

"Naw, it sounded like Roy!" Felix said as he looked up, grabbing his hammer in the process.

The two stood up as they ran towards the apartments, Roy blasting through the front doors as the other Nicelanders followed him.

"Is he goin' through another fit?" asked Norwood.

"Looks like it private…." sighed Don, brushing his hair back from under his hat.

By now, everyone in Niceland was out of the apartment, watching Roy scream at the top of his lungs as he ran in circles. Ralph then walked towards Calhoun, unsure whether to act or watch to see what would happen next.

"I didn't miss anything did I?" asked the wrecker.

"Uh, were ya looking forward to THIS?" Calhoun asked the larger man, pointing to Roy who was now hyperventilating into a paper bag, Felix kneeling beside him for comfort.

"Roy, Roy! Calm down! What is it?!"

"It's-! It's-! IT'S THE TROLLY!" Roy finally managed to blurt out before falling to the ground. Felix looked over towards the tunnel, noticing that someone was returning from GCS but Felix couldn't see them from where he was standing.

"Roy, ya know we have a lot of people livin' here now! Ya should be used ta seein'-!"

"10010110101010!"

The horrid screech of the binary was enough for everyone in the area to cover their ears.

"GAH! WH-WHAT IS THAT?!" screamed Nel.

"Honey! You're more into this tech-stuff than I am!" screamed Felix as he opened his eyes towards his wife.

"ITS BINARY!" screamed the sergeant "AN' IT SOUNDS FRANTIC!"

Without batting an eye Calhoun raced over to the trolley, her guns aimed and ready to shoot! Felix and Ralph followed suit for backup but they could guess what they would find once they got over to the trolley. The screeching of the binary continued but once Calhoun saw what was inside the seats, she held out an arm, pushing Felix and Ralph away for safety.

"STAY BACK!"

"But what-?!"

Felix turned in time to see what exactly his wife was so worried about and what he saw was an image that would forever be ingrained in his memories.

Huddled in the seats of the trolley was some sort of misshapen creature, shaking horribly as Calhoun stood over it, the barrel of the gun aimed right for it. It looked gray and lifeless, its body nothing but a mass of sharp angles and glitching code. It reached out a skeletal looking hand towards the group, doing jack all to calm the frantic Roy who only began to panic more once he saw the arm reaching out of the trolley car.

"OH GOD! ITS GONNA-!"

"SETTLE DOWN ROY!" yelled Nel as she held Roy to the ground.

"Sweet ghosts of Miyamoto! What's THAT!" Gene said, taking a cautious step forward.

Ralph squinted at the beast, something catching his attention. In the mass of grey, he noticed that there was also a rather large amount of pink covering the beast as well.

Pink?

The wrecker's eyes widened once he then noticed a strawberry emblem on the pink fabric.

An emblem that he remembered belong to a certain racer.

"H-Hold back Calhoun!" Ralph said as he gently pushed the woman aside "I-I don't think this thing means us any harm!"

"Are you INSANE Wreck-it?! That's-!"

"THAT'S TAFFYTA MUTTONFUDGE!" Ralph finished, his mind unable to believe what he was looking at.

The group gasped at the revelation but to their surprise, the figure stopped in her tracks and looked up at Ralph.

"R-R-Ralph?" Taffyta growled, her eyes widening as if pleading to him for help.

Ralph inched cautiously forward, kneeling on his knees towards Taffyta, "Y-Yeah! Its me! Wh-what happened to you?!"

The Taffyta-virus shuddered, hesitating a bit as it took its hand away. She knew what she had become and she was ashamed of it but she still knew that everyone in Sugar Rush was counting on her. She lurched towards Ralph again, trying her best to keep her mind in place without slipping into her virus programming.

"1010101110!"

"Taffyta, I can't-!"

"10011-V-Vanellope!"

Ralph jumped back in shock, "Nelly?! Is somethin' wrong?!"

Taffyta nodded, her arms reaching out as if she were pleading to the man "110110 V-V-VIRUS! 10101-C-COULDN'T-! TRAPPED! 10101-*"

Before she could finish, Taffyta felt all her power and energy leave her. It was if everything within her stopped functioning but instead of falling to the programming of the virus that was now inside of her, it was if her entire system shut down. Her eyes remained on the group as she fell to the ground with a dull thud, all responses shut down.

There was silence in the air for a moment, as if everyone was waiting for Taffyta to reply to them but once they got none, Ralph ran to the girl, picking her up in his massive hands.

"Taffyta?! TAFFYTA?!"

Felix pushed through the crowd, trying his best to see what was going on "Ralph, what's wrong?!"

"Oh programmers, she's not breathin'!"


	9. Chapter 9-Growth

Chapter 9 – Growth

_"Taffyta?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"What do ya think of this arcade?"_

_"Huh, what do you mean?"_

_"I mean, are ya happy here?"_

_"Of course I'm happy, Nelly! I couldn't be any more excited in my life!"_

_"…."_

_"I mean, kids are always happy to play with us! We're getting' really popular an' the folks in the arcade are friendly!" _

_"Hmmm…"_

_"Nelly? What's wrong?"_

_"I dunno. I just…"_

_"Just what?"_

_"Ya know, sometimes I wonder what it would be like NOT to be princess."_

_"Why would ya ever think that? You're SO lucky ta be the princess!"_

_"How so?"_

_"For starters, you're the MAIN character of the game, you have some of the best stats and….well, isn't it cool to have a position of power like that?"_

_"I guess so….it's just….well, so many of the characters here treat me like a PRINCESS and not ME."_

_"I don't get it…"_

_"I mean, when they see Vanellope Von Schweetz, they don't see a racer or a kid…they just see some girl in a dress that they have to act all fancy towards or they'll think I'm gonna punish 'em. With you guys…you get to be yourself. You're not titles. You're just kids who want to race an'….an' I guess I'm just jealous."_

_"O-Oh….."_

_"….."_

_"I-If ya want me to be truthful, I'm kinda jealous of ya too."_

_"What?"_

_"I-I know I shouldn't be but…but I guess I would like to be princess. I mean, all that stuff ya said about being looked at as a normal kid. Well, it's not that great either. Some of the other characters don't think we're that good. We're kinda in your shadow…."_

_"I….In my shadow? But…but you're important to this game! How could anyone think that?!"_

_"There are people like that out there. Some of 'em think we're brats or somethin' so…"_

_"Wow…._ "

"….."

_"Ya know, even with all the people goin' around here an' making stuff up like that…at least I know you guys will always be there for me."_

_"Of course we would be! Why wouldn't we?"_

_"I dunno! I'm bein' doofy! Its-just 1010110-!"_

_"Vanellope?"_

_"H-H-10100101001"_

_"Vanellope! You're gl-1010101001!"_

_"T-TAFFYYA!"_

_"101010101010"_

_"W-What's ha1001010110-ha-error-ha-ha-101001101010!"_

Yes, that memory.

A memory that Taffyta wanted to bury deep inside and never see again.

The moment she watched as she and Vanellope had their code corrupted by Turbo.

Taffyta could do nothing more but stand and watch as she and Vanellope glitched, their code flashing before their eyes. Taffyta reached out to grab Vanellope, in some vain attempt to save her, but as their hands touched, Taffyta went right through her.

Vanellope reached for the pink racer, tears flying from her eyes as she seemed to be sucked back into some vortex.

Taffyta felt herself being pulled away as well, their hands torn from each other as silent screams escaped from their mouths.

Then.

Darkness.

Taffyta opened her eyes, her entire body cold. A bright light hovered above her, growing stronger with each passing second. She squinted and covered her eyes from the light, her mind still in a mess as to what was going on.

"W-where am I-?"

Her voice echoed in the void.

"Is this the end? Is this where data goes when…when it's out of power?"

WHY DON'T YOU GET AWAY, YA GLITCH!

Taffyta jolted as she heard a voice.

Her voice.

She looked around but she was alone. Nonetheless, it felt as if she were surrounded; surrounded by horrible memories of the past. She stood on her feet, clutching her hands to her chest as she tried to make sense of where she was and what was happening.

"H-Hello?"

GLTICHES CAN'T RACE! THAT'S THE RULES!

TAFFYTA! PLEASE!

LOOK AT VANELLOPE VON STINKS! SHE'S NOTHING BUT A LOSER!

TAFFYTA, YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT TRUE!

I'M KING CANDY'S FAVORITE! YOU'RE JUST A MISTAKE!

G-G-G-G-GLITCH!

Taffyta looked around franticly but again, she was alone save for the light hovering above her.

"No….no! That wasn't me! THAT WASN'T ME!" she cried, a lump forming in her throat.

She wanted to believe it. She wanted everyone to believe it. But she was faced with the horrid truth of the past. No matter how much she wanted to bury it, she could not escape the fact that not too long ago, she had been a monster.

A monster just like the virus.

Taffyta, will you always be my friend?

Of course! Why wouldn't I?

GET OUTTA HERE!

STUPID GLITCH!

LEAVE ME ALONE!

I HATE YOU TAFFYTA!

I HATE YOU VANELLOPE!

Taffyta let out a loud scream, unable to take her memories anymore. She fell to her knees, sobbing horribly.

"I-I'm sorry Vanellope…I was never there for you. I-I was never there for you then…and I didn't come through for you know….."

"Taffyta….."

Taffyta sniffed as she looked towards the light, a figure coming in front of it. Again, the racer squinted to see it and after a few seconds, the figure became clearer. Her eyes widened in shock.

"V-Vanellope?!"

Whatever this figure was, whoever it was, it began to hover down towards Taffyta. The racer found she could not move; she was just in too much shock to even respond. The figure reached out a hand towards the racer.

"W-What?"

The figure did not move, its hand still extended.

Taffyta looked down and then looked back towards the light. She then realized that the jeering had all but stopped once the image of Vanellope came into her eyes.

Was this a sign?

Taffyta didn't know.

All she knew was that there was work to be done and if she wanted to make those horrible images of the past fade, she had to do something.

She had to do something NOW.

She could not quit on Vanellope! She could not quit on her friends! She couldn't quit on Sugar Rush!

The strawberry racer wiped the tears from her eyes and glared upwards.

"No…I'm Taffyta Muttonfudge an' when I come up to a challenge-"

The racer then took hold of the figure's hand, feeling her body float upwards with it.

"I DON'T QUIT!"

All at once, Taffyta felt as if she were being flung upwards, the Vanellope figure carrying her all the way. The two headed for the light and in and instant-

"I think she's coming to!" Mary said, looking relieved.

"M-Miss Mary?" Taffyta said weakly, her eyes focusing once she realized she was awake.

Everyone in the room sighed and cheered in relief once they saw that the little racer had awoken from her injuries. Felix couldn't help but jump on Calhoun, hugging his wife before giving her a kiss.

"Oh thank the PROGRAMMERS!"

Taffyta's head was pounding and her entire body was aching; what exactly had happened? And most importantly, how did she return to normal? Before she passed out, she remembered that her body was in less than stellar condition, the virus having nearly mutated it to an unrecognizable form. The little racer turned towards Calhoun, trying to sit up on the couch.

"S-Sgt….what happened?"

"A lucky shot, that's what…." Calhoun said, kneel down next to the child "Let's just say that had I not given you THESE, you wouldn't have just Blue-Screened, you would have gone out altogether!"

Taffyta looked down at the vials in Calhoun's hand, a label marked 'Antidote' on them. Unable to contain herself, Taffyta reached out and took one of the vials, looking at it curiously.

"Ya mean…ya got it outta me?!"

"Yeah. Thankfully, whatever bit ya wasn't strong enough to do TOO MUCH long-lasting damage to your code."

Taffyta paled a bit; there was just something in Calhoun's tone that made her a bit nervous.

TOO MUCH long-lasting damage.

The racer knew something had happened, something that could not be reversed.

"W-what did it do to me?!"

Calhoun lowered her head, "It's not bad but…."

The woman then removed the blanket that was covering Taffyta, revealing a scar on her leg where the infected candy person had bitten her. The girl reached for it cautiously but when she merely tapped it, a great deal of pain shot through it. Taffyta knew in the past she had become obsseed with her looks and if her former, brain-wiped version of herself had seen the marks on her legs, she would have blown her pixels.

"I'm sorry Taffyta, but there is some damage to your code. Thankfully it's just topical and won't result in any sort of glitching but even the anti-viral can't do anything."

"I tried my hammer but it still wouldn't go away…" Felix said sadly "But as Tammy told me, my own powers are code based too and susceptible to the virus' corruption. I just couldn't fix it…."

Taffyta frowned a bit but she realized that she was lucky to even be alive after her encounter. A mark on her leg wasn't nearly as bad as what has going on in Sugar Rush at the moment.

"It's okay Mr. Fix-It….I'm still alive and that's all that matters, but if we don't do anything soon, Sugar Rush won't!"

"That's what I was about ta ask ya kid!" Ralph said, picking the girl up gently "What's goin' on an' what happened ta Vanellope?!"

"The virus got her!" Taffyta said, flailing her arms a bit "I-I don't know HOW but it's in the game now doin' who knows what!"

"But how in the world could the virus gotten in?! I thought ya blasted those things when ya rescued Vanellope from the cord!" Felix said, becoming a bit frantic at the notion that viruses had gotten lose from the depths of the cord.

"Ooooh, Mr. Fix-it, THAT wasn't Vanellope!" Taffyta replied, her eyes becoming dark.

"It wasn't her? Then who was that that you guys rescued?!" Ralph asked.

"Cloaking…"

"Excuse me?"

"Cloaking….it's a method virus can do to copy the data of a target to assume their identity! That's how a lot of 'em can get pass normal security covers or-!"

"Or get access to things in the game!" Taffyta said, turning a bit pale.

Calhoun nodded, "A'course they need to obtain the data from the victim first which explains why it had to take Vanellope in the first place! No data, no free pass in!"

"That makes sense! But I still don't get why it ran the risk of getting captured in the cord!"

"It didn't." Calhoun growled "It was playing with us. All this time, it had Vanellope in its clutches but apparently, it wanted us to get so worried about saving HER, we wouldn't realize the obvious…."

The woman then punched the wall, knocking a nice sized hole in it, "I lost two of my men in that hell-hole an' all because some stinkin' VIRUS was playin' us!"

"Don't worry…I can fix it…" Felix said nervously, trying to reassure Mary who seemed a bit upset over the hole in her wall.

"Well, know that you know what's going on, what's next?" asked Gene "Please tell me you have enough anti-virals to get rid of that thing before it spreads!"

"We might but considering how much time has passed, it might have grown too strong for us to handle! Viruses feed on data ya know and the more they consume, the stronger they get!" the sergeant replied, her eyebrows furrowing in anger.

"S-So, is it too late?! We can't get ANYONE else out?!" Taffyta cried, her eyes filling with tears.

"No, hang on! I never said we COULDN'T go in!" Calhoun said, trying her best to calm Taffyta down "But with all the time that's gone by, things are gonna be a lot more difficult! We might not have an endless supply of anti-virals in Hero's Duty but we have some…"

Calhoun then turned, looking away from the others.

"And then there's Big Atom."

"Big Atom? Who's that?" Felix asked, approaching his wife.

"Not a who; a WHAT." the woman replied, looking down at Felix "It's the MOTHERLOAD of anti-virals in our system, equipped with wiping out any and all viruses that come within our game!"

"Then let's use that!" Ralph said, forgetting that he was still holding Taffyta in his huge hands "If that thing works, we can get rid of all this nasty business!"

Calhoun placed a hand on Ralph's chest, her face dropping "Ralph, it's not that simple. Big Atom would get rid of the virus….but it would also wipe out any stored memory in Sugar Rush to anyone that's still in the game."

"Full wipe? Ya mean like a reset?"

Calhoun shook her head, "No big guy. By full wipe, I mean all the memory would be destroyed. Sugar Rush would be fixed….but any and all memories those kids had over the past 15 years…it would be gone. Vanellope…she wouldn't' know who you are."

Ralph gave Calhoun a look as if someone had hit him in the heart; Vanellope wouldn't recognize him? One of the few friends he had in the arcade would once again lose her memories but this time, they wouldn't be able to get them back. They would be removed forever. Ralph stumbled a bit, sitting on the couch and nearly breaking it with his weight.

"N-no…th-that can't happen."

"Sorry big guy but…but that's just how it works."

Taffyta thought for a moment, "That's how it works? I'm guessing ya would hafta drop this bomb in the code room right?"

"Yeah, that's how it would have to work…."

"B-but what….what if you gave it to the virus instead? I mean, rather than breaking into the code vault, let the virus take the full blow to the face!"

Calhoun's eyes lit up once she thought of the plan, "I-it might work! Even though a virus does connect itself with the code, if its own connection to the code were severed via anti-viral, the other codes might be left untouched!"

"Then we can-!"

"MIGHT!" Calhoun said, holding out a hand towards Taffyta "The key word is MIGHT. Our biggest concern would be getting close enough to that thing in order to bomb it and knowing how powerful it is now…."

"I know ya can do it!" Taffyta said, running over to Calhoun "Ya hafta!"

Calhoun looked down at the child, seeing hurt and pain in her eyes. Calhoun knew those feelings all too well but unlike her own pre-programed code, what Taffyta was feelings was here and now. This was no game and if no one did anything to stop it, the entire arcade would be in danger.

Calhoun knew what she had to do.

"We're goin' back ta Sugar Rush." The woman said "Felix, Wreck-It, I'm gonna need ya too but since we're all goin' to another game, we all have to be careful or-!"

"I'm goin' too!" Taffyta said angrily.

"Oh, NO dear!" Mary said as she ran over and clutched Taffyta "You can't put yourself in danger after what happened to you!"

"I-It doesn't matter!" Taffyta said, gently pushing herself away from Mary, "I-I know I got bitten last time but I know how to dodge 'em since those virus are still susceptible to Sugar Rush power ups! An' besides, out of the three of you, I'M tha only one that can respawn once I go inside!"

"Negative young lady!" Calhoun said, preparing to leave the apartment "There is no way I'm gonna risk your life again! It's best that ya stay here before-!"

"NO!" Taffyta roared, tears streaming down her face "I HAVE TA COME!"

There was silence in the apartment for a second or two before Taffyta glared up at Calhoun, her little fist held tight.

"I-I made a promise to Vanellope that I would help her an' that's what I'm gonna do! I let her down before but there is no way I'm gonna let her down again!"

Ralph walked up to the small child, placing a finger under her chin and lifting her head up "Taffyta, listen. I know that ya really wanna help but….but this is somethin' that's better left ta us, okay?"

Taffyta sniffed, giving Ralph a horrid frown, her little body trembling.

"I-I said no…."

Felix stepped forward, more concerned than anything else "But we-!"

"L-Listen! I-I just hafta do this, okay?! If I lose Vanellope an' everyone else, I won't have anyone left! Everyone in the arcade already hates me so-!"

"Wait a second here!" Ralph cut in "WHO hates ya, lil bit?"

Taffyta looked up at the wrecker, "I-Isn't it obvious? Everyone loves Vanellope so much after what happened bu-but the rest of us? They call us bullies! They call us dead-weights! An' worst of all, they see me as the most useless of the bunch!"

Taffyta sniffed, trying to fight back her tears, "I-I at least owe Nelly that much. You guys might think I'm a brat but….but I just can't. I can't watch an' wait to hear the news that the game's been lost!"

Ralph looked back at Felix and Calhoun, in shock at what he had heard. He then turned back towards Taffyta, seeing just how miserable the girl was making herself with worry. He gave the girl a warm smile as he placed a hand gently on her head.

"Taffyta…I'm surprised at ya!"

"H-huh?" Taffyta said, looking up at Ralph.

"From what VANELLOPE told me, you were one of the best racers in Sugar Rush! Someone who is always ready to face off when someone challenges her! Someone who doesn't throw in the towel! But ya wanna know the most IMPORTANT thing Nelly told me?"

"W-what?"

"She told me that after all this time, after being controlled by King Candy for so long, she was happy to have you guys back. She missed you so much."

"R-Really?" Taffyta said, her eyes widening.

"Yup…an' any friend of Nelly, is a friend of mine!" the wrecker said, grinning wide at the girl.

Taffyta could do nothing but look in surprise at Ralph before focusing her attention to Felix and Calhoun. Calhoun nodded.

"'S true! An' besides, a real friend learns from the mistakes they've made. You've shown Vanellope that you were wrong and instead of running away from her, ya've still stuck by her side!"

"An'….I hope I don't regret this…" FRalph said with a chuckle "That's why you ARE comin' with us!"

As Ralph finished, the little racer jumped up and hugged the man much to his surprise.

"Thank you Mr. Wreck-it! THANK YOU!"

Ralph chuckled, "Just…just call me Ralph kid."

The four turned back towards each other, knowing that time was off the essence.

"It shouldn't take me that long to gather up another crew with supplies, but if we're gonna get this virus right at the core, we need to take 'em by surprise!"

"Before I ran out, the thing had set up in the throne room where it had Vanellope an' Bill trapped in some mirror!"

"Knowin' how cocky its gotten, it might not have moved. Its probably left all the dirty work to whoever it's been able to infect…" Calhoun said rubbing her chin "Okay, I'll send out some grunts to cure any of the villagers, but we need to get to Vanellope an' Ms. Muttonfudge is gonna lead the way!"

Taffyta nodded proudly as she saluted Calhoun, "Yes, ma'am!"

"And what about everyone else?!" asked Gene, fear creeping in his voice "Should we just wait here and act as if nothing is happening?!"

"Just keep everyone calm until you get word from me." Calhoun said, tossing the mayor a spare communicator "The last thing we need is more pandemonium in this place!"

The sergeant then looked down at Taffyta, a smile forming on her face.

"Ready to go kid?"

Taffyta nodded, her heart filled with both excitement and worry.

There was no turning back now.

She had to do this.

"I'm ready ma'am!" the racer finally said.


	10. Chapter 10- The Kids are Alright

Chapter 10- The Kids are Alright

~Several Hours Ago~

The events that were taking place in the castle were unknown to those in the village. For all they knew, things were going on as normal; just sugar and sweets, and lots of treats. Nothing odd had been seen and everyone was just going about their day. The racers were at the track doing the daily roster and the other citizens were milling about, just happy to be awake for another day.

It was just the very thing the virus wanted.

It WANTED people to be unprepared for its attack, not only to prevent anyone from fighting back but because it also loved the thrill of the hunt.

Nothing satisfied it more than unprepared, unsuspecting prey.

At that moment, Swizzle and Minty had found themselves going to their usual retreat of the Chilly Cow Milkshake Bar in an attempt to take some of the edge off of what happened during the previous race. Neither one of them had slept well and they just couldn't find the energy to make it to the roster race so rather than just watching, they decided to skip the race all together. They chatted amongst themselves about their usual things but as they both predicated, their conversation quickly turned to that of what was going on during the races, especially when Vanellope was concerned.

"It's just not right!" Minty said in a gruff voice, taking a sip of her malt "First, Nelly takes to the wheel as if she's never driven before, then she starts goin' off on us an' smashin' us every chance she gets! But tha topper?! She just EXPLODES on us for no reason! Good GOB, what in the world is goin' on her?!"

"A bit of reprogramming?" Swizz joked, slouching a bit in his chair.

Minty didn't find the joke too funny as her eyes were now going into the racer like daggers, "DON'T…you DARE mention that. Ya know it's not funny!"

Swizz raised his hands in defense, "Aw, come on Mintz! Ya know I was jokin'! Maybe Nelly's just let all of this royal duty go to her head or somethin'!"

"Come on Swizz! You're supposed to be the smart one here! I know YA know that there's somethin' deeper goin' on!" Minty replied, a little shocked that Swizz was just being so LAX on the situation at hand.

"Look Minty, I just…."

"You just WHAT?" asked the mint racer, scooting a little bit too close for Swizzle's comfort.

"Look, it's just not my place to question Nelly right now. I mean, I know what she's been doin' for the past week has been INSANE but there's just somethin' about it, ya know? I just don't want to upset her more than she already is."

Minty shook her head as she crossed her arms, "Swizz, Swizz, SWIZZ. This isn't like you! If something ODD happens here, you're ALWAYS the first to try to dig in an' find out what's goin' on! What's it about this situation that gots ya all, I dunno, CHICKEN?!"

Swizz glared at Minty; he apparently did not appreciate the comment.

"I just…." The racer sighed as he looked down at his hands "Okay, I will admit. What Nelly said REALLY hit home last night. It's just that….everything she said, about US…."

Before Swizz could finish, he found himself being held in the tight grip of Minty and shaken even harder than a chocolate shake.

"SNAP OUTTA IT SWIZZLE! I DON'T NEED YA GETTIN' ALL GLOOM N' DOOM ON ME!"

"GAH! OKAY! IF YA JUST STOP SHAKIN' ME!" the racer screamed, his hat flying off his head.

Minty then let go of the boy and took her seat in front of him, "Now, what did you hafta say about Nelly bein' crazy?"

"As I said, it's something even I can't answer; this is something she's going to have to figure out HERSELF….But I will admit one thing…."

"Yeah?" Minty said, getting a little closer.

Swizz began to rub his chin, a sign that he was in deep thought "During the races, have you noticed that Vanellope has been using EVERY tactic under the sun EXCEPT for the one she's given?"

"Ya mean her glitchin' powers?"

"Yeah…I know they can only take her so far during normal game play, but still. You'd think she'd use one of her most VALUABLE assets in the game rather than just driving like she just came outta Tapper's!"

Swizz's eyes began to brighten as everything in his mind began to click. A smile formed on his face "Wait! That's IT!" he said as he leapt from his seat, almost knocking Minty out of hers.

"What's IT?!"

"It all makes sense! I've been too busy focusin' on drivin' rather than-!"

Swizzle then stopped, a look of dread coming on his face.

"Oh no…."

Minty blinked, "What? WHAT?!"

Without even thinking twice, Swizz took off for his kart, "Taffyta called me earlier about seein' Nelly this mornin'! But if I'm correct, she could be in a lot more danger than she realizes!"

"HEY! WAIT FOR ME SWIZZ!" Minty cried as she gunned off for her own kart.

The two then blasted away towards the Candy Castle but from the way Swizz was burning rubber, Minty could tell that something urgent was going on. She reeved up, pulling alongside her friend.

"Mind tellin' me what exactly is goin' on?!" Minty said over the roar of her engine.

"Yeah, we have an unwanted guest takin' up space in the castle, that's WHAT!"

"What are you talkin' about?!"

"Let's just say we got a visitor from the Cord, Mintz. An' it's one that's gonna turn this entire game into its personal buffet!"

Swizz then sped off towards the main road but despite the energy that was pumping in his mind, he knew full well that he had no idea what he was doing. He was making a charge but if the villain he and Minty were about to face was as dangerous as he feared, what chances did either one of them have against it?

These were two kids going up against a threat that could have been powerful enough to wipe out the entire game in the blink of an eye if it wanted to.

But Swizz knew why he was going ahead.

Because his friends were in danger.

Taffyta was being led astray by a monster and Vanellope was still lost and in danger.

"Hey Minty…." Swizzle said as he made a quick glance to the other racer "Ya still know this moves Zangief showed ya?"

"Yeah! Why'd ya need ta know?" Minty said, a grin forming on her face.

There was butt-kicking ahead. Minty liked butt-kicking.

"We're gonna need 'em….." Swizz replied, speeding up towards the main gate.

The two were nearly towards the castle but as they rounded the entrance, their presence on the road triggered something. As soon as their tires touched the cookie pavement, their fates were already sealed. Swizz heard a large explosion from in front of him but as hard as he looked, he could not see the source. He attempted to keep his attention on the road but as soon as he took his eyes away for a moment….

"SWIZZLE! LOOK OUT!"

Swizz looked up just in time to see what appeared to be a large grey blob heading towards him. The boy gave a cry as he made a quick turn, the mass slamming into the side of his kart. The impact was just powerful enough to send him back and onto the side road before hitting a jawbreaker formation.

"Oh CRACKERS! Swizz!" Minty said, skidding to a halt and trying to back up as fast as she could.

Back in his kart, Swizz tried his best to gather his senses from the crash, only to find that he saw two of everything in front of him.

"Okay, can't say that was my WORST crash, but still-!"

A bit of dark ooze dripped on Swizz' helmet, the boy taking notice when the sludge began to eat its way through the eye shield. He looked up, only to see what appeared to be some sort of monsters mutation of one of the cookie guards and a blob eyeing him hungrily. The boy let out a horrified scream as he fidgeted for his seatbelt but the blob was on him in a second, tearing tooth and claw to get to him. Swizz managed to kick the monstrosity in its face, pinning it between his foot and the steering wheel.

"Oh, I KNEW somethin' was up!" Swizz said, trying his best to hold off the monster.

The monster continued to growl and roar at the boy, using all the strength it possessed to push him back into the seat and pin him down with its sharp claws.

Swizz knew EXACTLY what was going on now; INFECTION.

All his fears had been correct; a virus had infiltrated Sugar Rush and somewhere in the game, it was turning anything it came into contact with into a drone.

Swizz also knew that when one was bitten by a drone, they were only doomed to become a drone themselves.

If they were that LUCKY of course.

At the moment, the cookie virus looked so furious that it was on the verge of just ripping Swizz to shreds. It had no intentions of saving him for the hive.

"D-D-D-D101010-STROY!" growled the virus, ready to plunge its teeth into Swizzle's flesh. The racer continued to kick but it was no use; he was not strong enough to fight back against the virus' new power.

WHAM!

Just when Swizz thought he was going to end up as virus food, he felt the rushing air of something coming into contact with the virus' face. The monster gave a great howl in pain as it flew back, landing somewhere in the ditch below. Swizz turned and saw Minty standing before him, a large peppermint cane in her hand.

"Yeah, thought ya might like something BETTER ta chew on!" the girl yelled, shaking her fist.

"Minty! Have I NEVER been happier to see ya take your rage out on someone else!" Swizz cried in jubilation as he finally freed himself from his mangled kart.

"Uh, ya mind tellin' me what the heck THAT was?!" Minty said, still clutching onto her candy cane.

"That was trouble and if we don't head back to the village an' warn everyone, it's gonna eat a lot more people!"

"But I thought we were gonin' inside the ca-!"

"Not anymore!" Swizz said as he hopped on the back of Minty's kart "We gotta get back to the village before more of those things show up!"

Still a little confused, Minty did the only thing she could do and hopped back into her kart and sped off. Thankfully, she drove at a steady enough pace that she didn't throw Swizz from the vehicle but once she got to the village, she wasn't stopping for anyone. She barreled down the roads, almost hitting candy citizens left and right.

"EVERYONE! THERE'S SOME MAJOR INSANITY GOIN' ON!"

Minty then stopped in front of the soda fountain though in her rush, she finally managed to fling Swizz from the back of her kart right into the middle of the fountain.

"GAH! Swizz!"

Swizz was not fazed by his sudden swim and began to climb to the top of the fountain spout.

"EVERYONE! COME HERE QUICK! IT'S AN EMERGANCY!"

Racer and citizen alike began to form around the fountain, awaiting words from Swizzle.

"Swizz, what's goin' on?!" asked Snowanna.

"Is everything alright?!" said a worried Citrusella.

"Guys! Guys! We need ta get outta here and get help! We have a virus on the lose!"

The crowd gasped; after having gone through the panic of having their leader begin kidnapped by a virus, they only dreaded the thought of one being amongst them.

"What are we supposed to do?!"

"Who's gonna help us?!"

Swizz whistled towards the crowd to get them to calm down though he too was in a great panic, "Listen! For now, the virus only seems to be centered 'round the castle but if we evacuate soon enough an' get someone from Hero's Duty ta come in here, we might be able to save everyone before all heck breaks loose!"

"Yeah, like it hasn't already!" Minty said angrily.

"Minty! At this point, it's the only thing we can do! We don't have the artillery to fight off something like this!"

Adorabezzle began to turn pale as she held her hands to her face, "Oh goodness! We were almost eaten by Cybugs! I don't wanna go through that again!"

"Beezie, we won't! We just have to-!"

Before Swizz could reply, a large explosion knocked him from the fountain and into the crowd. Being directly in the heart of the explosion, the candy people began to scream and scatter all over the place.

"W-Wait!" Swizz said as he gritted his teeth in pain, his sides hurting from falling on the ground.

"Oh SNAPS…." Snownna said as she looked towards the outskirts of the village "Seems like those viruses are arrivin' just a BIT early!"

Swizz' heart almost stopped once he saw the hoard of virus looming over the entrance of the village. He then looked off to the side and to his dismay, he found that there were large gatherings of viruses at every corner.

They had been locked in, like prey ready for the slaughter.

"Swizz, LOOK!" cried Jubileena.

To Swizzles horror, he watched as smaller viruses began to surround and attack the candy citizens, some of them being devoured on sight while others were infected and turned into drones. Despite his want to rush in and save them, he was frozen in horror.

It was like the Cybug invasion all over again.

There the kids were, looking at the face of doom yet they were unable to do anything. This time however, they were under the control of no one and they knew that somewhere out there, their leader was in danger and needed them.

Yet they were too scared to do anything.

The racers looked on, the looming viruses only getting closer and closer to them.

What else could they do?

"Er, Swizz…." whispered Rancis.

"Y-yeah?"

"This is the PERFECT time for a plan!"

Plan? WHAT plan?

Swizz' mind felt as if had been locked in place when he saw what he was up against. He already knew the strength and power of a virus first hand so what could they do?

Wait.

There was one place.

One chance.

It was a dangerous chance, but at this point it was better than nothing.

Swizz stood up on his feet, glaring at the group of viruses in front of him.

"Guys? We need ta go to our place."

Gloyd looked back at Swizz as if he were crazy, "What?! But we haven't been there for MONTHS."

"Trust me…" Swizz said, keeping his voice down "It's the only place we can go now…."

"But how are we gonna get there when we have THOSE brutes blockin' us?!" asked Minty through gritted teeth.

Swizz then took Minty by the hand, pulling her closer to him, "Burst…."

"What?!"

"BURST!"

Minty blinked but then turned to her kart which was still near the fountain. She knew exactly what the boy wanted her to do. She gave a quick nod as she began to inch her way back to her kart, knowing that the viruses were still glaring at the bunch. Swizz continued to stand in place.

"Guys, on the count of three, I need you ta head near Gingersnaps Gate!"

"But that's near the entr-!"

"Just. DO IT."

Everything was silent in the middle of the village. Viruses surrounded the area and in the heart of everything stood a small group of children, unsure of what fate was to fall on them. Minty looked at Swizz and gave another nod, her sights set on a particular button in her kart.

"One…."

Minty ducked down a bit, reaching towards her kart.

"Two…."

A virus stirred, noticing that one of the racers seemed to be missing. It began to rushes towards the cowering group.

"THREE!"

And with that, Minty leapt towards her kart and kicked one of the main buttons on the console and not a second later, a large eruption of mint dust EXPLODED from the back tail pipes.

"MINTY FRESH BURST!"

Not only had this succeeded in momentarily blinding the encroaching virus who was ready to take a bite out of Minty, it gave the kids a chance to run for their lives. Swizz lead the front of the pack but as he looked back, he noticed that someone was missing.

"H-Hey wait, a second….WHERE'S CANDLEHEAD!?"

Where indeed?

At the very moment that the village was being attacked, Candlehead sat alone in her room. The events from the previous night had hurt her so much she wasn't sure if she could really come out to talk to anyone that day.

"D-do they all think I'm stupid?" she said to herself, sitting on her bed.

So deep in sadness was the poor girl that she had not noticed the loud noises that had gone on outside her little cottage. For all she knew, they were just more fireworks or explosions from another one of Vanellope's victories. She was much too glum to see for herself.

BAM BAM BAM!

Candlehead let out a shocked cry as she nearly leapt a foot in her bed, only to stumble out a second later. She looked around, trembling a bit.

BAM BAM BAM!

The candle-headed racer looked towards her window, only to find a silhouette pressed on it. Approaching it carefully, she was shocked to find the exhausted form of Swizz, the boy desperately trying to get her attention.

"Swizzle?! Wh-what in the world are-?!"

"YA GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!"

"W-wait. WHAT?!"

"CANDLEHEAD! GET OUT!"

Candlehead bounced over to her door, opening it to take a peek at Swizz, the poor boy so out of breath it looked as if he were going to pass out right in front of her.

"Swizz, if there is something wrong, why don't you tell me?!"

Swizz slapped his forehead; he knew Candlehead MEANT well but of all the times for her to be CANDLEHEAD!

Wasting no time, the boy ran forward and grabbed onto Candlehead's hands.

"Okay, if we're not outta here in two seconds, we're-!"

Before the two had a chance to make it anywhere, they were grabbed by a huge bear claw citizen. Candlehead shrieked as she was lifted off the ground, only to fall silent once she looked into the deep maw of the virus infected citizen. She turned a bit blue in the face as an unstable grin began to form.

"Eh-heh-heh. Please tell me this is some special surprise ya guys set up an' this isn't gonna end as badly as I think!"

"NOPE. It's gonna end badly…." Swizz said, just as petrified as Candlehead.

"M-M-MASTER NEED 10101001 RACERS! We-we-we- shall BRING them!" the bear clawed growled, glitching in and out every few seconds.

"Master?! I don't know who this MASTER of yours is but you're not gonna take me to 'em!" Candlehead said, kicking her little feet in the air in a poor attempt to escape.

Swizz wasn't having any better luck; the monster was just too strong and as he could see, the other racers were making their escape like he had told them. The racer gave Candlehead a pained look, regretting that he was unable to do anything.

"C-HEAD! IF THIS IS IT, I WANNA APPOLOGIZE FOR DRAGGIN' YA OUT LIKE THIS!"

Candlehead continued to thrash, "Ya?! Apologize ta me?! There's no need for it Swizz!"

"WHAT ARE YA-!?"

Candlehead let out a rather unladylike snarl as she dug her little teeth into the bear claw's hand. The giant beast let out a painful roar as it dropped both racers onto the ground, both scrabbling hands over feet to safety. Of course, Candlehead did this all the while trying to rid her mouth of the horrible taste of the bear claw. As much as she hated to admit, she HAD bitten a few of the walking food items in her own game and even she had to admit that in their corrupted forms, they tasted HORRIBLE!

"PHHTH! Urgh, it's like metal and dirt!"

"I have never been so happy of your bottomless stomach than NOW!" Swizz said as he took the girl by the hand and tore off.

The bear claw took a quick turn and noticed that the racers were getting away. With a roar it began to lumber towards them, its gait slow due to its size. Swizz turned around, seeing the growing distance the two had between it.

"HA! Try n' catch us NOW slow-!"

"SWIZZLE!" Candlehead cried as she stopped din her tracks, pulling Swizz back with her.

The two then looked around, only to see that they were surrounded by viruses once again. Candlehead gulped, gripping onto Swizz' shoulders.

"Hate ta tell ya but I even I don't think I have the stomach ta bite 'em all!"

Swizz knew he had to come up with a plan and fast but with the way things were looking now, it seemed that his luck had run out.

BOOM!

A large explosion rang out from the distance and all eyes went to the sky, only to see some sort of large eruption coming from the rainbow bridge.

What was going on?

Before anyone could investigate further, debris from the bridge began to rain down towards the village, pelting anything that was hapless enough to be caught underneath it! Candlehead cried in fear, ducking down to prevent from getting hit but Swizz knew this was possibly their only chance! He grabbed the girl and made his way out of the crowd of viruses.

"Ya know, I've heard of close calls but now this is getting' RIDICOULOUS!" Swizz said, not even caring anymore as to what had saved them at the moment.

Candlehead turned back for a moment, looking up towards the bridge. As the smoke began to clear, a figure rose from the dust, only to be tackled again by viruses.

A flash of pink was seen as the figure continued to thrash away.

"T-Taffyta?!"

Before Candlehead could say anything else, she found herself being dragged deeper and deeper into the candy forest, Swizz still leading the charge.

"SWIZZ! I THINK I SAW TA-!"

"THIS ISN'T THE TIME, C-HEAD!" Swizz roared angrily, tearing through thick bush and vine.

Candlehead took one more look at the village that was now slowly disappearing from view; viruses swarmed the entire area, destroying everything that it came into contact with. The girl put a mouth to her hand to muffle a cry.

She couldn't believe this was happening.

When King Candy was in charge, he used to fill the racers' heads with horror stories of Vanellope destroying the game. When the evil monarch himself became the very embodiment of the monster he had warmed them against, Candlehead thought she had seen it all but there was one huge difference between that and what was happening NOW.

Back then she and the others had escaped.

She and the others had made it to the safety of the station.

Even though she knew her home was in danger, she knew that King Candy couldn't get her.

At least she HOPED he couldn't get her.

But this time? This time she was in the middle of the chaos.

She COULDN'T escape and the station felt like it was hundreds of miles away.

Now, she knew that things were truly turning into the nightmare King Candy had put in her mind but this time, it wasn't lies perpetrated by a usurper of the throne.

This was real.

"H-Here we are!" Swizz puffed as he came to a stop in front of a large peanut brittle rock.

Candlehead looked at the rock and instantly knew what to do. She pushed the formation in, though with a bit of trouble. An entrance then appeared and after making sure they hadn't been followed, both racers dove in.

They slid down a hard-candy caramel slide only to end up landing on a soft marshmallow pad and no sooner had both racers landed than they were greeted by their relieved friends.

"CANDLEHEAD!" Jubileena cried as she ran towards the racer, hugging her tightly "We were scared those horrible creatures got you!"

"Nah! C-Butt was just too slick for 'em!" Swizz said with a laugh, trying his best to ease the tension.

"W-Well, we're all here but….but now what?" Sakura asked nervously, shaking a bit in her boots.

"Th-there's nothing we CAN do except wait for the time to go for help…." Swizz said in a grave tone, unsure when such an opportunity would arise.

"Are ya kiddin'!? Those viruses are EVERYWHERE an' by the time we CAN get out, it might be too late!" Gloyd yelled angrily, taking Swizz by the collar of his shirt.

"Hey, hey, hey! We have enough problems with those monsters up there! We don't need any more fightin' down here!" Minty said as she broke the two up.

"A-as much as I hate to say it, I agree with Gloyd…" Adorabezzle piped in nervously "Without any means of communication to ANYONE outside the game, how can we hope of getting any kind of help?!"

Swizz prepared to say something to comfort the obviously frightened racer but before he could utter one word, Candlehead jumped in.

"Taffyta is goin' for help!"

The entire group of racers gasped in shock at the revelation; Taffyta was going for help?

"Wait, Taffyta's been at the castle all day! How did she manage to-?!"

"I saw her Swizz!" Candlehead said, grabbing onto the racer's collar in a burst of excitement "I saw her on the bridge! She was fightin' off a'buncha viruses but it looked like she was about ta escape an'-!"

Candlehead stopped, looking down at the floor as all of the excitement seemed to drain from her.

"An'?! AN'?! Don't leave us like this girlie!" Snowanna said, her hands clasped together.

"I saw her getting' jumped…."

Silence fell on all the racers; Taffyta had been attacked? What did this mean now? For all they knew, she could have been infected or even eaten.

"Aw man….ya think she made it out?" Sticky said, shaking her head.

"S-she had ta have made it out!" Candlehead said, looking a bit angry although the group could see tears forming in her eyes "We all know Taffy! She never gives up when a challenge comes her way!"

"Yeah, but this CHALLENGE came in the form of bit-eatin' viruses…." Swizz said, sitting down on a rock candy formation, the color draining from him.

Sakura sniffed a bit, wiping her tears on the edge of her sleeves, "First Vanellope! Now Taffyta! Are we to be picked off one by one here?!"

"N-NOW COME ON GUYS!" Candlehead yelled, much to the shock of the others "W-we can't give up hope now! I believe that Taffy made it out! Can't we at least hold that much hope for her?!"

The others looked at Candlehead, surprised to see the racer they considered an air-head to be so serious, though by now her eyes were full of tears and they were rolling down her cheeks. After a few moments, the racer couldn't take it anymore and broke down, going to her knees as she wept bitterly. Minty quickly scooped her friend in a hug and held her tightly.

"C'mon, it's okay C-Butt."

"N-No its not! W-what if Taffy didn't make it?!" wept Candlehead.

"Then….then it's up to us…." Swizz said.

"Yeah, but what can we do? It's not like we're armed of anything!" replied Jubileena.

"Come on guys! Are ya tellin' me that you're not up for a little action here! I mean, yeah, we're kids but we're not WEAK kids! Vanellope is depending' on us here!"

The racers murmured amongst themselves but they knew that Swizzle was right; they couldn't just stay in their hiding spot forever.

"Right now, it's best to wait until nightfall ta do any sort of attack which leaves us with a few hours ta plan out attack!" the twisted racer said as he gathered his friends closer.

"Do you really think this plan will work?" asked Rancis, wringing his hands nervously.

Swizz looked down at his feet before looking back up at his friends again. He wasn't too sure himself if the group could take on the ever increasing number of viruses but at this point, they had to. He gave the peanut butter racer a serious look.

"It's tha only thing we can do now bud….an' for Vanellope and Taffyta, I'm willing to take a risk!"


	11. Chapter 11-Infiltrate

Chapter 11-Infiltrate

Things were starting to look bleak in Sugar Rush. The once bright and cheerful candy kingdom had been sucked of all its life and joy.

The skies were dark and grey. The air was damp and rank. There was a filling of dreariness and sickness in the air. As far as the eye could see, the entire land looked as if it were falling apart, its data and code being sucked dry of its energy. What candy people that were left unscathed had gone into hiding, fearful that their fallen brethren would come storming in and infect them with the virus program. Those that were infected lumbered about, searching anywhere for food for themselves and their 'queen' who was now residing in the great palace of the Candy Castle, Vanellope and Sour Bill still held captive in their mirror prison.

As the seconds went by, it seemed less and less likely that ANYTHING could save the game now.

Sugar Rush had had some close shaves before, but this time it looked as if things were finally over for the world.

At least, that's what the virus WANTED to happen.

Inside its cushy lounging, the virus had no idea about what was happening outside its guarded palace, for at that very moment a small team of soldiers were making their way in, carefully climbing down the entrance and making their way through the thick bush of the Candy Forest.

"Steady guys." Calhoun whispered to her team "As far as we know, the virus is still unaware of our presence here, and I want to keep it that way!"

The group nodded as they went on their way. Calhoun looked down to her side, seeing Taffyta following close by.

"You okay kid?"

Taffyta nodded. Of course, she was scared out of her wits but the thought of freeing Vanellope and her friends was much too great to stop her from going now. She looked to her side, seeing the silhouette of the Candy Castle through the clouds.

"We got a way to go…."

"Aw, don't worry about it kid! If any virus makes a charge, BAM! Right in the kisser!" Kowalski said, charging up his gun.

"Cool it, big guy! That thing might be able to take out some of the smaller class viruses, but we have to be careful for the bigger bugs!" Calhoun said, stopping her men as she looked around "Besides, we have one stop before we make it to the castle…."

Calhoun looked around, trying her best to see her way through the forest.

"Never did like this place. Ya always get the feelin' somethin's watchin' ya, getting' ready ta take a bite outta ya!"

"Aw, ya get used ta it!" Taffyta replied, jumping ahead of Calhoun "But the spot is up ahead! C'mon!"

"Wait! Not so fast, kid!" Calhoun whispered as she reached out and plucked Taffyta into the air "I know you're excited but we're still tryin' ta go for stealth here!"

The little racer nodded again, pointing towards the far end of the forest "It's straight ahead! You can't miss it!"

The soldiers then made their way further into the, not sure what to expect next or where they were even going.

"Say, kid? This places doesn't have any candy BUGS, does it?" Kowalski asked nervously.

"Don't go to sleep, don't go to sleep!" an exhausted Swizz mumbled to himself as he kept watch at the door. Who knew how long it had been since he and the others had taken shelter in their little hide-away but if there was thing Swizz knew, it was that he just wanted to get out.

He turned back towards his friends; some were still awake but most of them had nodded off some time ago. Being the guy that he was, Swizz had volunteered himself to stand watch but now the feeling of sleep was washing over him.

"If I stay up any longer, I might start seein' things…." The boy mumbled to himself as he knocked the side of his head, surprised that he hadn't started hallucinating sooner.

The poor kid was on edge. Every sound he heard, every little twitch, squeak and chirp, he was sure was an attack ready to happen. But he had to remain in charge of the situation, if not for his own sanity then for his friends. He couldn't let any of them down at this point.

Just then…

BUMP!

Swizz jolted as he looked up towards the slide.

"Crumbs…" he mumbled, tip-toeing towards the entrance.

Another large bump succeeded in waking the other racers up, the children frantically looking up towards the ceiling of their hideout.

"Tha heck was that?!" Minty blurted as she tumbled over Snowanna.

Swizz didn't even think twice as he ran over to the wall and grabbed a chocolate-covered pretzel stick and held it over his head like some sort of bat.

"I dunno, but as soon as it gets in here-!"

The slow creaking of the hide-out entrancing opening echoed within the chambers of the room, sending a chill down the spines of every racer.

Something was coming, but WHAT?

Swizz trembled in his shoes as he stood over the entrance, the stick still held over his head. He was terrified but he knew as soon as whatever it was showed up, he was showing no mercy.

"C'mon, ya stinkin' virus! C'MON!"

A few bits of rock candy and chocolate powder blew in from the slide and just when everyone thought they were going to be attacked….

A familiar strawberry themed racer landed at Swizzle's feet.

"GUYS!" cried Taffyta, elated to see everyone okay

"TAFFYTA!?" shouted Minty, still looking over at Swizz, his sleep-deprived mind ready to strike anyway.

Taffyta looked up, just in time to see the pretzel coming down towards her head but as she ducked, a flash of green leapt in front of her, tackling Swizzle to the ground.

"SWIZZ?!"

As the dust cleared, everyone saw that it was Minty who had jumped up in the nick of time, a split second before another catastrophe had occurred.

"MY SPINE!" cried Swizz, trying to get Minty off of him.

"Goodness, I leave you guys alone for a few hours an' you're already going nuts!" Taffyta said as she stood up, brushing the dust off her dress.

"Sorry, 'bout the near hit!" Minty said, picking Swizz off from the ground "But when you're almost eaten by viruses, ya kinda get on edge!"

"I don't blame ya! Things have gotten worse since I was able to escape!"

"See!? I TOLD ya she managed ta get out!" Candlehead exclaimed, her candle sparking everywhere.

"Wait, wait, wait! If ya managed ta get out, how in the world did ya get back IN?!" asked Rancis.

Taffyta smirked as she pointed towards the slide, "Helps when ya have friends in high places!"

The racers waited, expecting someone to come in at any second but after five seconds, no one showed up.

"Uh, Taffyta?"

Taffyta walked towards the slide, looking up "I said, helps when you have friends in high pl-!"

"SON OF A B-!"

The voice of Calhoun echoed so loudly in the hide-out that all the racers fell to their feet.

"Well, she does come from a rated T game!" Torvald said, shrugging.

"Wait, who's a son-of-a WHAT again?" Candlehead asked, scratching her head.

"UNFF! Um, I'll be right down solider! I just need to do a little-! A little maneuvering!"

Of course, Calhoun knew she couldn't deny the fact; she was stuck in the slide. Not only was her armor a tad too bulky to fit through, her long legs and arms weren't helping the matter either.

"Sgt. Calhoun! Do ya need any help up there?" asked Swizz

"I said I'm fine kids! It just might take me-! A MOMENT TO GET DOWN!"

There was a bit of silence for a moment or two and still no Calhoun. Citrusella sighed as she walked off to the closet.

"I'll get the licorice rope…."

Thankfully, it didn't take long for the kids to pull Calhoun free of the slide and once everything had settled, Taffyta began to explain the situation. She told the gang of the doppelganger and how Vanellope and Bill had ended up being trapped in the mirror. She also told them of her narrow escape and how Calhoun and her team would be able to rectify the situation with their anti-virus bomb.

A bomb they were still unsure if it would cause more harm than good.

The racers didn't care about the bomb at the moment however as all their concern was now on Vanellope. They were glad to know that their princess was still alive but getting her free was another question all together.

"I KNEW it had to be mind-control or a double!" declared Minty "Why else would Vanellope drive like a maniac?!"

"So what do we do now?!" blurted a worried Sticky "I mean, there's a virus in the palace, Vanellope and Bill are trapped and for all we know, the second we step outside we could be CHOMPED!"

"What do ya think we're GONNA do?!" Taffyta snapped back, placing her hands on her hips "We gonna get outta here and take our game back, that's what!"

"Taff, are ya NUTS?" Swizz said, grabbing onto the girl's arms "We have no line of defense an' those viruses are HUGE!"

"We have no defense!? HA!" laughed the strawberry racer "We have a whole army of Hero's Duty soldiers waitin' outside for us, so I think we can cross 'helpless' off the list!"

"Okay, but why do ya want US ta go out?!"

"Because the HD guys can only get us so far! They might have bigger guns but all in all, they still need back up from us! Remember, these guys might be packin' but we're the only ones that can RESPAWN if something happens!"

"With the way these viruses work, we might not be ABLE to respawn!" Swizz said, pressing his hands on his temples "You said it yourself! You became infected when you were bitten an' nearly died!"

"Swizz, I nearly died because I went for help in Fix-it-Felix Jr.! Applyin' a quick does of anti-viral should work once you're bitten an' if any of us get knocked around TOO hard, then….well, ya know!"

"Anyway ya put that, it still sounds like a bad idea…."

"Come on guys! Ya hafta go with me on this! The Hero's Duty guys can bring in the heavy weapons, an' we can provide the extra help an' power-ups!"

Taffyta looked around at her friends but she could see in their eyes that they still were not convinced but after having described to them all that had happened to her when she so much as ATTEMPTED to escape, she couldn't blame them. Once again, Swizz stood up, the boy looking more drained than ever.

"L-Look, I wanna help out as much as the next person but, what can we do? Really? We're just a bunch'a kids here an' to the viruses, we're just easy pickin's!"

"Vanellope could do it…." Taffyta said, her voice dropping a bit "An' she was by herself! Are ya tellin' me that together, we can't fight off some viruses?!"

"Er, ya do know that Nelly didn't really come face-ta-face with King Candy AFTER he became a bug, RIGHT?" Rancis corrected.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" snapped Taffyta "She went back into the battle even though she knew she was in danger! Are ya tellin' me we can't do tha same?!"

The other racers stirred a bit, not sure how to reply to their friend. On one hand, they knew Taffyta was right but on the other, they knew that what they were about to face weren't Cybugs. These things were much more dangerous. Not only could full viruses not be destroyed in-game but from what they were told, these viruses could do much more damage to the game than they could even fear. There was no room for error in this battle.

But Taffyta wasn't going to stand for this. Not anymore.

Ever since stepping foot back into her own game, Taffyta felt some sort of recharge. Maybe it was from the excitement of seeing her friends again or maybe it was from knowing that she was going to do something. Whatever it was, she couldn't stop and she wasn't about to let the other racers wallow around in fear as their home was once again put in the middle of a fight.

"Look guys, Turbo tried to take over this game and look what happened! We ended up in brain-limbo for 15 years lickin' his boots while Vanellope was pushed to the corner! An' after everything is cleared, this game's reputation here is still bruised! So when another threat comes, we're just gonna sit by an' LET 'EM take us?! I don't think so!"

"But Taffyta-!" squeaked Adorabezzle.

"Enough buts! Our friend is up there and there is no way in heck I'm gonna let her rot like I did all those years ago! Not this time when we have FULL control over ourselves! Instead of just sittin' around, we're gonna do somethin' about it! I know we can! I know we all can! Ya guys have strength an' talents ta use, so why not use 'em now when our home needs it!?"

The racers were stunned; it had been a long, LONG time since they had seen Taffyta so charged about something that wasn't race related.

"Do ya really believe that, Taffya?" Nougestila said, a small smile forming on her face.

"If I didn't, do ya think I would have wasted my breath sayin' so?"

The other racers looked at each other but as they did so, a spark had been ignited within them. Taffyta's words gave them courage and that courage began to grow.

"YEAH! I'm not gonna let some stinkin' virus take us out!" cried Rancis.

"Just lemme at 'em! Lemme at 'em!" cheered Jubileena, hopping up and down.

"Soon as I get near those butt-faced creeps, they're gonna get a taste of these babies!" Minty sneered, cracking her knuckles.

Calhoun looked down at the strawberry racer, a smile coming on her face "Nice pep-talk, Muttonfudge."

The girl smirked at the older woman "What can I say? I have a knack for riling up a crowd!"

"Just one more thing…" Calhoun said, kneeling down to the girl "I am gonna give you guys a chance ta fight, but the moment things get TOO dangerous, the moment ANY of you kids get too close to getting infected, I'm evacuating all of you. Understand?"

It was a hard lump to swallow but Taffyta knew that Calhoun was right. She was about to nod her head but instead, she gave the woman a salute.

"Yes, Sergeant!"

Calhoun smiled as she looked at the group of kids before her, even though she was still worried about the outcome of letting them fight with her group.

"I sure hope this doesn't go as badly as I feel it will…."

"Okay, we're waitin' on ya, Taff. What's the plan?"

"First, we let the HD guys take us to the garage where we can get our karts out! From what I could see, they were still being stored there and there are only just a handful of viruses out there!"

"An' second?"

"We load up our carts with as many power-ups as we can carry and take aim at the gates! That way, we can open up a clear shot for the Sergeant here to get her team in ta rescues Nelly an' Bill!"

"It's a risk, Taffy. A HUGE risk…" Swizz said, looking down at his hands. He then looked up, a smile appearing on his face "But it's one I'm willin' ta take!"

Taffyta returned a smile towards her friend, taking his hand and giving it a shake.

"Get ready ta hop into your racin' carts guys!"


	12. Chapter 12- Jump into your Racing Kart

Chapter 12- Jump into Your Racing Kart

It was now night in Sugar Rush. The awful grey skies of the previous day were replaced by a murky black night, no stars shining in the skies. Those that remained unchanged hid in fear. Those that were infected walked the streets looking for their next meal.

The palace was heavily guarded, everyone on edge for any sign of intruders.

The virus imposter continued to rest on the throne, stretching its long and thin legs over the armrest before looking at the mirror beside it, smiling sweetly.

"The nights here are very beautiful, aren't they?" the virus said in a rather warm tone "But I like it even better now. It has the perfect combo of sweet and, well, ME, don't ya think?"

Vanellope didn't say a word, her eyes glaring at the monster. Sensing the tension, the virus levitated from its seat and floated over to the mirror, reaching in from the glass and touching Vanellope on the cheek.

"Oh, don't worry darling, things will be over soon enough!"

Vanellope growled as she slapped the hand away, "Yeah, for YOU maybe!"

The virus looked stunned as it drew its arm back, as if it weren't expecting Vanellope to snap on it.

"Dear! How can you do such a thing to someone who is doing you a FAVOR?"

"Favor?! HA! An' how is makin'our game as ugly as YOU a favor?"

The virus floated up into the air, flipping once as it chortled "Why, I'm just takin' care of all those horrible little ingrates that didn't respect you before! An' soon, you won't have to worry about them makin' fun of you EVER. AGAIN."

Vanellope stamped her foot on the surface of her glass prison, glitching out a bit in anger though it moved her nowhere. "They are NOT ingrates! They're my FRIENDS!"

"That's not what I found in your mind…." The virus cooed, giving Vanellope a teasing smile.

"Hey, I think a lotta weird things in my brain, doesn't mean they're true or that I feel the same about them!"

"Oh?" replied the creature, moving much too close for comfort towards Vanellope, the girl's eyes widening in fright "Don't lie to me, child. You hate those kids as much as I do and you WANT them to be erased!"

"NO!" growled Vanellope, her fist ready to fly right into the sneering face of the virus.

The virus grabbed Vanellope in its clutches, its palm resting right on her forehead.

"You want them to be erased….DON'T YOU?"

The little racer struggled for a moment or two but the more she fought, the more tired she began to feel. Her mind became clouded and soon she felt as if every memory in her head were fusing together, the results creating something that wasn't pretty.

"E-erased….I-I-!"

The virus sneered, its already toothy and wicked face becoming scarier by the second.

"Yes?"

"I want them erased?" Vanellope asked herself, not even sure what was going on.

Bill couldn't take it any longer; the small candy-man once again pounced on the virus, hitting it right in the middle of the face, causing it to let go of the racer. Hitting the floor was enough to knock Vanellope out of her trance, the racer shaking her head as she tried to clear her thoughts.

"URGH! I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE EATEN YOU FIRST!" the virus snarled as it slithered back into the throne.

"Whoa, that was even worse than a brain freeze!"

Bill scampered back over to Vanellope, jumping in front of her just in case the virus would attack again, "Are you okay, President?!"

Vanellope stood, holding Bill in her hands, "I am for now…but I'm startin' ta figure out how that THING got into here in the first place!"

"How?!"

"It-it has somethin' ta do with all that brain mumbo-jumbo it does! I guess when it comes into contact with people, it brain melts them an' to the point where ya CAN'T fight back!"

"Oooooh, smart girl…" the virus hissed from the other side of the mirror "Ya do have somethin' between those huge ears of yours. It's just a pity it won't help ya now!"

"You're pressin' your luck, big-ugly-an'-slimy!" Vanellope growled, her fist pressing on the mirror glass "I can BET ya won't be so cocky once the others bust in here ta kick your butt!"

"THOSE runts?" the virus snorted "I'll pick them off like flies!"

"Really? Then why haven't ya?!" Vanellope said with a sneer "Somethin' must be holdin' ya back if ya haven't even gone after a bucha, as you say, 'RUNTS'! Ya scared or somethin'?"

The virus scowled at the child and turned around, "Fear has nothing to do with this…..I'm just waiting for the right opportunity to strike."

* * *

"This is the right opportunity to strike…" Taffyta said in a whisper to the others, ducking behind a wall near the palace garage, the racers' karts in full view "I knew that thing was gonna collect our cars!"

"Oh, trouble…" Swizz said, ducking down a bit.

"What?"

"We have a problem, Taff. Specifically, THREE problems!"

Taffyta looked over towards the garage, seeing that Swizz was indeed right. In her rush to return to the palace, Taffyta had forgotten that her own kart had been lost in her fevered escape to get help and Minty and Swizzle's karts were gone as well.

"So what do we do now?" asked Minty "We said we were gonna do a head on charge with our wheels, but how can we do so when we're missin' fire power?!"

Taffyta thought for a moment, an idea hitting her.

"Double Dash!"

"Excuse me?" asked Swizz, unsure of what Taffyta was even talking about.

"It's just something I picked up from Mario and it's the very thing that's gonna save us!"

"Um, how!?"

"Minty, I need you to tag team with your sisters, okay!"

"What?! Minty driving MY kart?!" Sticky said in a shocked tone "You know the damage she does to her OWN kart! I don't think I can imagine what she'll do with mine!"

"Don't worry, Sticky! You'll be behind the wheel but Minty is gonna provide ya with the heavy power!"

"What? What power?!"

"Shush! Lemme go over it with ya! It'll work like this-!"

* * *

Back inside the prison, Vanellope's heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. She was so nervous, so frantic that she had no idea what to do. She had tried everything in her mind to escape but nothing she attempted seemed to work. All she could do was hope that the others would come soon.

But what if the virus was right?

What if Taffyta was turned into a virus or worse, eaten?

And what about the others? What was their fate?

The girl had never felt so scared in her life. Even with the events that happened with King Candy, she felt even more in danger.

This time around, NO one would be able to escape. She WAS going to take the others with her.

"What do I do? What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?!" Vanellope cried, going to her knees and putting her hands to her head "I can't just let this happen! I can't just let this happen!"

Bill tried his best to calm the girl down but even he knew it would be an effort. Even he wasn't sure of his own fate and as the moments ticked on, he was becoming less and less certain that both he and Vanellope would make it out of this situation alive.

The virus on the other hand was enjoying every moment of this.

It loved to see the suffering o the characters it would soon devour. It had gone through so many programs before, ravaging so many places but this was the first time in its life it was on the verge of destroying an entire GAME.

The fame that would come with it! Only a few viruses were able to do that and soon it would be joining them!

The monster let out a loud cackle as it rested back on its throne.

"Aw, don't cry too much dear! Its sooooo unbecoming of you!"

"Donna michi date! Massugu janai darou!"

The virus looked up, the strange muffled sound hitting its ears.

"What in the-?"

It then floated over towards the windows, checking to see if anyone was approaching but even with the virus drones outside, there was nothing to be seen. Still, an uneasy feeling began to come over the monster. It knew something was coming, but what?

"Sou magari kunette! Dekoboko shiteru hazu sa!"

"Urgh, what is that NOISE?!" the virus hissed.

Vanellope looked up, a few tears still falling down her cheeks.

That music.

It couldn't have been!

"Guys?"

She slowly made her way to the mirror, pressing her hands against the surface, feeling as if the sound was only becoming louder.

"Tsurai koto toki ni wa aru yo ne! Bokutachi wa soredemo hashiru yo! Amai mono demo ikaga!"

The virus snarled, its features becoming more monster-like as the music continued.

"WHERE IS IT COMING FROM?! WHERE IS IT COMING FROM!?"

The virus looked ahead, seeing a wall of light headed right for the castle. The sound of reeving engines and wonderful, multicolored smoke began to fill the air, breaking through the murkiness that Sugar Rush had been transformed into.

"S-U-G-A-R! JUMP INTO YOUR RACING KARTS! SUGAR RUSH! SUGAR RUSH! S-U-G-A-R! JUMP INTO YOUR RACING KARTS! SUGAR RUSH! SUGAR RUSH!"

The virus was stunned at what it saw. Heading towards the gates as an army of Sugar Rush racers, each one accompanied by a Hero's Duty solider.

And leading the pack?

Taffyta Muttonfudge.

Of course, Taffyta had somehow managed to talk Jubileena into letting her drive her kart but it didn't matter; Taffyta was mad and ready to rumble! The racer reeved up the engine, a lollipop clenched in between her teeth.

She knew that the virus was looking right at her so the little racer returned the gaze.

"No one takes over Sugar Rush without a fight…." The racer growled in her throat. She then looked at the others, her war face on.

"YOU READY?!"

"YEAH!" the racers cheered.

"THEN CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!"

The loud roaring of engine filled the air as the racers charged their way towards the gates, bursting in and circling around the entire palace. Calhoun held steady onto the back of the kart, surprised that a kid could drive so recklessly.

"Steady as ya go kid! Ya want me to hit a few of this guys RIGHT?!"

"Of course!" Taffyta said "But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna take out a few myself!"

The racer then looked back towards the others, getting ready to turn.

"ALRIGHT! FIRST WAVE! GO!"

Three karts slowed down as they began to take on the wave of virus drones that were approaching them. Adorabezzle and Nougelstia headed the charge, followed by Snowanna and a rather unsure Swizz who was holding on for the ride with the sno-cone racer.

"Y-you sure we can do this?" Adorabezzle asked Nougelstia.

"We have no choice Beezie! It's all or nothing!"

The racers saw their first obstacle approaching them; a flank of huge drones, all ready to pounce! The first one nearly hit Adorabezzle, the racer giving a sharp cry as she almost lost control of her kart.

"NOUGLESTIA!"

"HANG ON SIS! JUST REMEMBER THE PLAN!"

Shaking in her seat, the racer remembered that the entire group was counting on each other to save their home. If one of them bailed out, it was all over.

"I can do this, I can do this!"

The racer pressed forward, following the other Popsicle racer into formation.

"READY TO ACTIVATE?!"

"READY!"

Both girls reached into the pouches and pulled out a power-up, tossing it in front of their karts. As soon as they ran into them, their karts charged up.

BRAIN FREEZE!

The two girls then u-turned around the monsters, each one surrounding the barrage on both sides. They shifted gears and aimed their guns.

"HOPE YA LIKE CHERRY!"

With that, the two racers blasted the monsters with the sub-zero, cherry-flavored slush, freezing them in place but the attack wasn't over yet.

"Ready, Snow?!" cried Swizz, hanging on for dear life.

"As always!" the racer said, putting the pedal to the metal.

Swizz then reached into his own pouch and threw another power-up in front of Snowanna's kart, the racer running right into it.

SWEET SOUNDS!

"Might wanna cover your ears!" Snowanna said with a grin.

From within their ice-prisons, the virus beast could only look on as the tiny girl approached them in her car. A microphone then appeared right above the wheel as she then skied to a halt.

"C-sharp!"

"Hurry!"

Snowanna then hit a loud and powerful note, the sound waves blasting over the monsters and shattering them along in the ice, the bits falling to the ground. Once the beasties were defeated, the group cheered!

"ALRIGHT! That group is done!" Swizz said "Let's just hope the others got a handle on their group!"

* * *

The Mint triplets made their way through the barraged, being chased by viruses from every corner.

"Swizz and his hare-brained ideas!" Sticky screamed, trying her best to keep the wheel steady.

"Just keep drivin ' Sticky!" Minty said, hanging onto the side of the kart!

"THERE IT IS!" cried Torvald, pointing towards the edge of the Quik-Sand pits.

"Hang on girls!" Sticky said as she turned, heading right towards the pits.

Not even considering the trap they were heading for, the viruses quickly followed suit, unaware that the girls had a plan for them. Sticky's kart ran over the candycane bridges, making so many twist and turns that several of the perusing viruses couldn't help but slip and fall into the pit of Quik-Sand.

"DOUBLE STRIPE! DOUBLE STRIPE!" Torvald called as she took the wheel, guiding the kart away from the branch just in the nick of time. The viruses unfortunately didn't know about this rule and as soon as their feet touched the surface of the branch.

DING DING!

Down they fell.

"Hehe, so long slime-ohs!"

"This was too easy….much too easy…." Sticky mumbled to herself, keeping an eye on the road.

"Hey, don't hang it sis!" Minty said with a laugh" If anythin' else happens to pop up in front of us, then we can-!"

Before the girl could even finish her words, a shot rang out, blasting the tire of the kart and sending it spinning out of control! All three girls screamed for their lives as they hung on but the force was too great and they were flung for the kart just as it collided with a tree.

"Gobs! What was THAT?" asked Sticky, shaking her head.

"THAT!" screamed Torvald, pointing up to an enormous beast of a virus, the thing towering over the bunch.

"Okay, Mintz. You're the heavy hitter of us? Got any ideas?"

Minty scrambled through her pouch, finding nothing that powerful enough to take down the approaching virus, at least on her own.

"Girls! Minty Triple-Flip!" the girl in green called towards the other "I got a Twist N' Tie!"

"An' I got a Cinna-Bomb!" said Torvald, holding her power up in the air.

"Fairy Floss for me!" cried Sticky.

"Good! We're gonna need 'em all!" Minty said, crouching down in front of the virus, ready to pounce.

"What are you-?!"

"ON GO!" Minty said, suddenly leaping up and knee-capping the virus, the thing crying out in shock as it lost balance.

Minty threw the power up to the ground, activating it.

TWIST N' TIE!

A flurry of purple taffy vines appeared before the girl and she wasted no time in taking them into her hands and running circles around the virus, snaring up its legs.

"TORVALD! NOW!"

Sticky gave a good throw as the power-up hit the virus in the face.

FAIRY FLOSS!

In an eruption of pink smoke, a large webbing of cotton candy fell on the virus. At first, it thought it could break its way through but to its surprise, it found that the Fairy Floss was more like a fine net of wire.

A wire that wouldn't break.

The beast struggled for a moment or so but it was too caught up to even go forward without getting off balance.

"TORVALD! YOU'RE ON!" Minty said as she bounded away from the virus and joined her sisters, running out of the path of the collapsing virus, the thing falling to the ground with such force that it pitted the ground it landed on.

This was Torvald's chance.

The smallest of the Mint sisters hurled her power up at the feet of the huge virus, the thing bouncing a bit before landing right next to it.

CINNA-BOMB!

"Brace yourself, girls!"

With a large BOOOOOOOOOOOOM, the bomb went off, wreaking the ground that the virus was now laying charded on. The earth shook, it crumbled and then….

It collapsed, taking several cookies and candies with it, along with the virus disappeared into a pit of underground Quik-Sand.

The sisters looked at the resulting damage they had done but they couldn't be happier.

"See, I told you breaking things was FUN!" Minty said, pounding a fist in her hand.

"Yeah, but you still owe me a new kart…." Torvald quipped, a smug grin on her face.

* * *

"Got the bombs?!" Citrusella called up to Jubileena.

"When DON'T I?!" laughed the cherry racer.

"Then get ready ta throw!"

Citrusella hit a hard left as her kart drove over a pack of virus beast, the monsters unable to reach the two not only because the bridge they were riding on was too high but they had packed themselves so tightly together that moving was next to impossible.

But this couldn't have worked to the girls' favor better. Jubileena attached a line of licorice rope to the back of Citrusella's kart and leapt off, holding a bag in her hand.

"CHERRY BOMBS AWAAAAAAAAAY!"

As Citrusella continued to drive, the pull allowed Jubileena more or less to ride right above the monsters as she dropped a mess of Cherry-Berry bombs over them, their pins pulled and about to go off any second.

"HEY CISSY! HIT IT!"

The blueberry racer sped up, pulling Jubileena upwards and out of the range of the blast just as they went off. Several viruses were flung into the air, only to be caught in some of the gum trees that were around them, hopelessly caught in the mess of melted gum.

"Well, I can say THAT went off well!" Jubileena laughed, getting back into position on Citrusella's kart.

"Hang on, it's not over yet!" Citrusella said as she gripped the wheel, pressing on forward.

Jubileena looked back to see that there were a few viruses who survived the blast and they were heading right for the two!

"Got anything in that bag?!"

"A few tricks but we need somethin' ta really get those guys!"

Jubileena dug around for a moment of two before pulling out a power-up that made her mouth drop.

"NO WAY!"

"What is it?!" Citrusella yelled, trying to keep her eyes on the road.

"Cissy, I need ya ta take this!" the cherry racer said as she handed her twin another power up.

"Is this it?!"

"NOPE! But just use it once I activate the first one!"

"W-wait! What's the first-?!"

"HERE WE COOOOOOOOOOOOME!" cried Jubileena in excitement, slamming the power up onto the hood of her the other racer's kart.

SLICE N' DICE!

A rare power-up indeed!

"W-w-wait! I'm not ready for THAT!" cried Citrusella, watching in shock as her kart began to split into two right down the middle.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing!" Jubileena said as she kicked off the other half of the pie kart, taking control of it!

"JUBILEENAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

It took a moment or two for Citrusella to regain control of her half of the kart but she quickly knew what Jubileena was up to. Nonetheless, she still shook her head in annoyance.

"Ya know, ya could have told me!"

Citrusella moved in the front of the two, taking the other power-up and activating it on the kart.

JELLY OF A JAM!

Two small blasters appeared on Citrusella's kart and with the press of a button, a wave of sticky, thick blueberry jam blasted from them and onto the viruses, sticking them into place.

"Okay, I did my end of the attack! What about you?!"

Jubileena sneered as she tossed her power up on her kart.

CHERRY PIT!

A huge cherry, complete with catapult, appeared on the back of the other half of the kart which was quickly launched into the air and landed on the viruses but at first, nothing seemed to happen. The viruses hadn't been destroyed by the giant cherry and some were managing to wriggle their way through the messy pile of jam and cherry juice.

But of course, it wasn't over, far from it.

The viruses didn't notice the giant lit STEM of the cherry that sat atop them.

The two racers then drove their halves of the kart towards each other, fusing them back into one.

"THREE! TWO! ONE!" counted Jubileena, ducking a bit.

KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The pit of the cherry bomb EXPLODED, sending viruses and cherry goo EVERYWHERE. The two berry racers gave a cheer as they saw that their attack had worked.

"See, Cissy? Didn't I say my crazy plans always work?

* * *

The battle of the Sugar Rush racers continued on, the kids and Hero's Duty soldiers fighting and curing infected citizens.

"Ya know, I never would have thought that a game this cute would get into so much TROUBLE!" Kowalski said, shooting several viruses in the air.

"That's why it's always best to expect the unexpected!" Mouse retorted, throwing a vaccine grenade towards several citizens.

"SARGE! HAVE YOU MANAGED TO BREAK THROUGH THE WALLS YET?!" Kowalski yelled over his communicator.

"Not yet! This thing made sure that the front doors were guarded and sealed tight!"

"Not good…" the man said "We need to step up our fire-power!"

Just then, a massive flying virus swopped down, knocking both Kowalski and Mouse off their feet.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD-?!"

"Was that a…." Kowalski chocked back "A BUG?!"

"Aw, CRAP."

"BUUUUG!" the man cried, getting up to his feet and running away at top speed.

"Can't say I blame him!" Mouse said, rolling under a piece of Snickers wall for protection, unaware that there were a fleet of viruses ready to attack her from above. The woman looked up once she noticed virus slime dripping onto her glasses.

"Yeah, should have seen this coming!"

The woman rolled on her back, guns out but before she could fire a shot, a wave of Halloween pumpkins flew into the air, each one exploding on the viruses. The woman turned, only to see the figure of Gloyd Orangeboar, the kid holding another lit Jack-o-Lantern in his hands.

"Hey! Sneakin' up an' getting' people is MY thing!" the boy said in annoyance.

Mouse grinned as she got back up and ran towards the kid.

"Pretty nice save there!"

"It comes with the territory!" the racer smirked as he looked up at the much taller solider.

"Think ya have enough fire power to take care of the rest of these guys?"

Gloyd ran to his kart, activating yet another power up.

PUMKIN CHUNKIN'!

A large canon appeared on the back of Gloyd's cart, ready and aimed at the oncoming viruses.

"Does THIS answer your question?"

"HA! I gotta come here more often!" Mouse laughed as she began shooting at more viruses.

The two then began to blast their way through the viruses, having much more fun then they should have at the moment.

"YEAAAH! THIS IS WHAT EVERY RACE SHOULD BE LIKE!" Gloyd cackled at the top of his lungs.

The racer then realized something; weren't there TWO soldiers before?

What had happened to Kowalski?

As if the sight of kids and heavily outfitted soldiers fetching viruses wasn't mind boggling enough, the sight of a giant solider running like a little girl away from a flying virus only made things sillier. Several of the soldiers and racers had to dash out of the way as not to be trampled by the terrified solider and with the bug still on his tail, he wasn't stopping any time soon!

"WHY IS IT ALWAYS BUGS?! WHY IS IT ALWAYS BUG!?"

"MR. SOILDER! DUCK!" shouted Sakura as she slammed into a power-up.

POCKY SHOOTER!

Much to the surprise of the solider, the pokey stick on the side of Sakura's hair began to grow to enormous size, forming into what seemed to be some sort of candy coated bazooka gun! The racer took aim at the virus bug coming towards both her and the man, a furious look on her face.

"PRIORITY ONE! SHOOT!"

A large bomb of raspberry frosting and shortbread shot from the gun, nailing the virus right in the face and causing it to EXPLODE in a large mass of melted frosting, burnt cookie, and dead virus data which was now raining down on the two. Sakura looked over that the ducking solider, hopping out her kart and shaking his arm with her tiny hands.

"Sir, are you okay!?" asked the worried girl.

"Phew, I am now kid!" the man chuckled, giving the kid a playful hit on the shoulder. "Nice save with that hair things though! That thing is killer!"

* * *

"No, no, NOOO!" cried the virus as it looked at the battle from the outside "URRRGH! HOW CAN THEY ACTUALLY BE GAINING LEVERAGE HERE?!"

"Probably because you're too stupid to give them credit…." Vanellope said, her arms crossed and giving the virus a smart-alecky look.

The monster snarled as it approached the girl but Vanellope wasn't scared; she knew that the virus was panicking and no longer held a threat over her. Its reign was crumbling around it and its true colors were showing.

"What was that about my FRIEEEEEEEEEENDS not being of any help? Huh? What was that? I can't hear YOOOOU!" Vanellope teased, pressing her ear on side of the mirror.

"SHUT UP YOU LITTLE-!" the virus screeched as it jumped into the air and flew out the window, joining its drones in the battle. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU FOOLS! THEY'RE JUST BRATS! JUST BRAAATS!"

A lone shot hit the virus in the arm, sending it crashing down to the ground with a horrid screech. Calhoun cocked her gun, grinning evilly at the monster.

"Guess you weren't expectin' US, were ya?"

The virus glared at Calhoun, a bit of blackened data leaking from its mouth and nose.

"G-Guess I wasn't….but it's no matter!"

The virus then stood, position itself as a glow surrounded it. Those around the area looked in shock as several of the once destroyed virus bits began to reform themselves.

"H-Hey, what's goin' on?!" asked a scared Candlehead.

"This is the benefits of being in this candy coated world for so long!" the virus cackled "I've gathered enough energy that even if you hit me with your hardest stuff, I can come back swinging!"

"As is the nature of viruses…." Calhoun grumbled, her eyes not leaving the sight "Huh, I'd say you have us in a pretty tight bind."

"Don't I?" the virus cackled, its drones surrounding it "And it doesn't matter how many of these boogers you get to drive around! Ya keep hitting me, I'll keep getting back up!"

Calhoun smiled as she rubbed her nose cheekily, "You're talkin' a lot of guff for a virus that hasn't even breached the stages to be considered a REAL threat!"

The virus gave Calhoun a stunned look before glaring at the woman, transforming itself into its more hideous, and larger, form.

"A REAL THREAT?! A REAL THREAT?! I COULD CRUSH YOU ALL LIKE BUGS RIGHT HERE AND NOW! HOW IS THAT NOT A REAL THREAT?!"

"Because you lost this game the moment you DARED try to take over our home!" Taffyta said, reeving up her engines.

"WHAT?!"

"RALPH! NOW!"

Just them, Ralph EXPLODED from behind the virus, rage on his face as he lifted his huge fist into the air.

"I'M GONNA WRECK IT!"

"GO! GO! GO!"

Ralph began to pound the large viruses into the ground, taking them out in no time and leaving just enough time for the others to race into the castle, karts and all, towards the throne room.

"URRRGH! INSOLENT WHELPS! I WILL MAKE SURE TO-!"

Ralph hurled a large virus at the leader, all before lifting them BOTH up and tossing them into a nearby rock-candy wall.

"THAT'S for Vanellope!" the man growled, his voice booming.

"GET ON BIG GUY!" Felix called riding in on the back of Rancis' kart, the racer cutting through several viruses with his peanut-butter cup circle blades.

"Ya want some of this?! HUH?!"

Wasting no time, Ralph hopped on the back of Candlehead's kart as the group went up the spiral walkway to the top of the candy castle.

Unbeknownst to them, the virus wasn't knocked out completely. It managed to dig its way out of the pile of drones only to see the lights from the karts making their way higher and higher up the castle.

"NO! I'M NOT LETTING THIS HAPPEN!" the creature roared as it jumped up and began flying back towards the throne room.

* * *

"Are ya sure ya have the right tools to get her out?!" Taffyta called up to Calhoun.

"This vaccine should be able to break through the wall that virus put on that mirror! After that, we can get into the code room and plant them bomb right in the center of-!"

"SURPRISE!" shouted the virus as it busted through the wall, a horrid grin on its face, landing atop of Taffyta's kart.

The charging pack screamed in horror as they tried to pull back but the runway was much too narrow for them to do so and with the virus on the front kart, things weren't getting easier.

"KEEP ON COURSE! KEEP ON COURSE!" Calhoun shouted, trying to hang on as Taffyta began swerving like mad.

"I'M TRYIN'!" screamed Taffyta, her hands slipping on the wheel.

"AND HERE I THOUGHT I GOT RID OF YOUR CHEEKY BUTT!" the virus hissed, corrupted data dripping from its fangs "Looks like I'll have to try again!"

"NOT TODAY!" Calhoun yelled as she slammed the butt of her gun on its face.

The virus screeched as it fell, only to run over by Rancis and Felix, the repair man giving it a kick in the face for good measure.

"GREETIN'S FROM FIX-IT-FELIX JR!"

The virus recovered quickly and began to tear after the bunch. Ralph looked back, seeing the thing catching up rather close to the trio, the fact that he and Candlehead were DEAD LAST not helping.

"Uh, anyone plan on doin' SOMETHIN'?!"

"Not ta worry, Mr. Wreck-It!" Candlehead said "I got this covered!"

Candlehead then took a power-up and activated it.

FUN-SIZED!

"Wait, WHAT?!" Ralph said, not too thrilled at the idea but before he had a chance to do anything else….

The kart, Candlehead and himself, SHRANK to the size of what had to be a mouse!

"AW COME ON!" Ralph squeaked, his voice ridiculously high.

Even though they were small, they were FAST and were able to blast away from the virus and run under both Rancis and Taffyta's kart, taking the head as they made their way towards the door of the throne room.

"Um, what now kid?" asked Ralph, still looking back in fear and hoping he wouldn't get smashed by the enormous tires that were gaining on him.

"We break through the door, of course!" Candlehead said gleefully, oblivious to the worry in Ralph's voice.

"BREAK DOWN THE DOORS?! I CAN'T EVEN REACH 'EM!" Ralph bellowed at the top of his lungs, his voice still high.

"Just put out your fist, Mr. Wreck-It!"

"Nnngh, I'm comin' Nelly! I just might be a little broken up when I do!" the man said, putting out one of his giant fist in front of the kart but as he did so, an odd feeling came over him as his entire body tingled and flashed pink.

The kart flashed all before sprouting up to its normal size and BUSTING right through the door thanks to Ralphs' huge fist.

"NOOOOOOOO!" screeched the virus as the team had infiltrated its base.

"GOTCHA YA UGLY!" Calhoun said as she turned and shot the virus in the face once more, this time with a charge powerful enough to send it back through several walls.

"Told ya it would work!" Candlehead said gleefully, bouncing in her seat.

Ralph just calmly got off the kart, his fist still out in front of him.

It would take a moment or two for him to process what just happened.

"THERE'S THE MIRROR!" Taffyta cried as she entered into the room, coming to a halt.

Calhoun jumped off the kart and ran towards the mirror.

"SGT. CALHOUN!" cried Vanellope, happy to see a familiar and friendly face "Oh you have NO idea how glad I am to see ya!"

"Things are gonna be fine kiddo!" the woman said as she pressed her hand on the surface of the mirror, trying desperately to find any weak spots. She then turned back to her husband, pointing towards the door.

"Felix, I want you to repair the door! Make it stronger than it was before!"

"Got it, hun!" the repairman said, getting his hammer ready.

"Oh boy. OH BOY. This is a lot tougher than that I thought!" Calhoun said, looking through her scanner. "Urgh, I knew I should have brought Mouse up here!"

"But I thought you said your anti-virus could get her out!" Taffyta said in a panicked voice.

"I thought so too! But this glass is a lot tougher than I thought!"

Ralph stomped forward, his anger increasing with ever second he saw his friend trapped behind the glass.

"I don't think ANY virus cover is strong enough to hold THIS back!" the man said, gearing up for another punch.

"RALPH! NO!"

Before Calhoun could even stop the man, Ralph made a punch on the glass but even with his strength it was much too strong. The man jumped back, yelling out in pain, something he NEVER expected to feel on something like GLASS.

"Th-there is no way!" said the flabbergasted wrecker, shaking his hand a bit.

"Ooooooh, but there is!" hissed a familiar voice.

Felix looked up, shaking a bit "No! No! I FIXED THE DOORS!"

"You can fix all you want, BUT NOTHING CAN HOLD ME BACK!" the virus shouted, bursting right through the repair work that Felix had done, knocking the man towards his wife.

"O-Okay, does anyone else have a plan?!" Rancis quivered.

"Yeah! It's big, it's black, and it has an endless blast fire!" Calhoun said as she aimed her gun at the virus, shooting away. Despite her efforts the virus continued to slip from her range.

"COME ON! I GOT YOU TWICE!"

"Oh, sweetie! It's a new game NOW!" the virus sneered from its place on top of the ceiling all before diving towards the floor.

"GET BACK!" Ralph said, taking everyone into his huge arms and pulling them away to safety but to their surprise, the virus seemed to disappear into the floor.

Silence befell the room.

Not a single thing stirred.

Calhoun was sure everyone could hear her heart beat pounding through her armor as she awaited the next move.

"Was that it?" asked Candlehead.

"Kid, you NEVER trust a silent moment during a fight!"

The room began to quake. Softly at first but the tremors began to grow! The royal throne fell to its side, pillars and wall hangings were toppling over and hitting the floor. The group of characters were being tossed everywhere as the entire structure of Sugar Rush was starting to crumble right below their feet!

"W-W-W-W-WHAT'S H-H-H-H-HAPPENIN'?!" Felix cried as he grabbed onto his wife, his teeth chattering.

The floor of the palace then began to break apart but not in a way that signified that the entire building was falling apart. Instead, it broke apart into hexagonal pieces, each one separating from the other like some sort of puzzle. The group cried out in panic as they prepared for the drop but as they looked below, the pieces revealed a black, endless space and instead of falling…..

They were FLOATING.

The mirror that Vanellope and Bill were in seemed to shatter but the two were left uninjured, finally free and floating with the others.

"VANELLOPE!" Taffyta cried out in jubilation as she floated towards her friend, holding her in a tight hug.

"Oh my GOB! I thought I would never see you again!"

"M-Me too! B-But where are we?!" asked Vanellope pulling away from her friend.

Calhoun looked around, but a bright light caught her eyes. She looked in shock, still floating around.

"Programmers….."

Everyone looked towards the light, only to see a massive of wires and one large ball of energy right in the middle of them.

"W-we're in the code room!"

"You are CORRECT!" said the voice of the virus forming out of the mass of energy, huge and towering, tendrils and arms coming from its sides. "But as you can see, this is MY code room now!"

"NEVER!" said Vanellope charging up to the virus, not even caring if the thing was several times her size.

"VANELLOPE! NO!" Ralph cried, trying to catch up to the girl.

"Listen up ugly! Ya may have gotten one over me but there is no way I'm gonna let ya get away NOW!"

"Is that soooooooooooooo?" the virus cooed "If you're so sure of that, why don't we test you?"

Vanellope jolted a bit, but still stood her ground, not sure what to expect from the virus at this point.

"Vanellope, we have to get outta her before"

"NO! I'M SICK OF YOU MITES!" the virus roared, its hand swooping into the endless reaches of the code void, swirling the smaller characters in a vortex. The group screamed as they tried to reach for one another, but the force was just too powerful.

"NELLY! REACH FOR MY HAND!" Ralph cried.

The tiny racer reached out a hand, managing to take a hold of the giant's finger. She then looked off to the side, seeing Bill rolling about helplessly.

"C'mon Billy!"

Vanellope twisted a bit trying to get her hoodie to catch the wind and open up a bit and to her luck, Bill made a perfect landing in the hood.

"TAFFYTA! CANDLEHEAD! OVER HERE!"

The two other racers followed suit, grabbing onto each other's hands and holding on for dear life. Calhoun managed to find as much stability in the vortex as she could, grabbing onto Felix and then onto Rancis before forcing her way towards Ralph.

With everyone together, the group huddled, trying their best not to let the virus tear them apart.

But this was all a game to the virus. It ENJOYED watching them in their futile efforts. It swung the force faster and faster, the group only hoping they would make it out alive.

"Urgh, I think I'm gonna be SICK!" cried Felix.

"You can be sick all you want once we destroy this thing!" Calhoun cried.

"CHANGE OF PLANS!" the virus bellowed, slamming its hand down and causing an enormous tremor to shake both the code void and the entire game outside.

The group of friends flew up into the space, losing their grips on each other and separating. Vanellope let go of Ralph's hand, sailing higher and higher away from him.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAALPH!"

"VANELLOPE!" the wrecker cried but it was too late by now. He was already thrown out of the void, the others following suit after him.

"NO! PLEASE NO!" Vanellope cried, finding that her friends were being pulled away from her.

Calhoun looked back, seeing the opening coming closer. She forced off her belt, anti-virals and all and tossed then towards Taffyta.

"TAKE 'EM!"

"ME?! BUT I CAN'T-!"

The woman then pushed the racer as hard as she could back towards Vanellope

"THERE'S NOTHIN' MORE I CAN DO HERE! TAKE THEM MUTTONFUUUUUUUUUDGE!"

Taffyta flew back, crashing right into Vanellope and causing the two to spin in the void, the anti-virals still in her hands. Despite their movements, they were able to see the rest of their friends finally being taken from the void, the portal closing behind them.

* * *

In the throne room, Calhoun landed with a hard thud on the ground, stopping only when she hit Ralph's side. Not letting any sort of injury stop her, she struggled to her feet and ran towards the wall. The mirror was gone, the code room was impassable, and at this point there was nothing else they could to do reach the two racers stuck in the void.

"Darn it. Darn it! DARN IT!" the woman roared, her fist pounding the walls.

"W-What do we do NOW?!" asked a terrified Candlehead.

Calhoun let her hands slide down the wall; for the first time in her life, she felt defeated. Unlike her backstory, this was real. This was really happening to her and she had failed to people who needed her help.

But then she remembered.

She had given Taffyta the belt containing the anti-virus bomb. She knew there was still a huge risk of detonating it while being in the same space as the virus but….

But there had to be a chance! There had to be!

A spark of hope was lit in Calhoun's heart as she turned towards the others.

"We hope. We pray. We keep fightin'….Those two will know what to do!"

Rancis and Candlehead looked at each other nervously but they knew they had to remain strong.

Calhoun ran towards the window of the palace, seeing that a battle was still going on between her soldiers and the other racers.

"Come on! We still have some other viruses to take care of!" the woman said powerfully, wasting no time in leaping out the window, gun out and blasting.

Even though there was a battle going on and he knew better, Felix couldn't help but swoon.

"An' this, my friends, is the reason why I love her!"

Ralph let out an annoyed grunt as he took Felix into his hand, grabbing both Rancis and Candlehead with the other, and jumped down into the fight, landing on two viruses for good measure and planting them into the ground with his weight.

"THIS AIN'T OVER YET!"

* * *

"Well girls…." The virus hissed "It's just YOU….and ME."

Vanellope and Taffyta huddled together, scared out of their skin but daring not to move from the mighty virus that floated in front of them.

"I have power-ups, if ya need 'em!" Taffyta whispered to Vanellope.

Vanellope shook her head "No go. It's either the void or the virus itself but there's something about this place that cancels out any and all powers!"

Taffyta's blood ran cold; her only other option of fighting was now lost.

Except for the anti-virus bomb.

She held the belt tightly in her hands, keeping it safe behind her back.

"I know one weapon that will work…..but there's a big risk with it!" the blond racer muttered.

"At this point….ANY risk is worth it!" Vanellope said, her eyes still not looking away from the virus before her.


	13. Chapter 13- Sacrifice

Chapter 13- Sacrifice

As the battle ensued outside of the code void, Vanellope and Taffyta were fighting their own battle within.

They were looking right into the multiple eyes of the enormous virus, its form shadowing them as if it were as big as the candy palace itself. Taffyta trembled horribly as she started deep into its eyes, her eyes filling with tears and her teeth clenched.

But then she felt a hand touch hers.

She looked over, seeing Vanellope grinning at her, her president not yet ready to give up.

"Hey, don't quit on me yet!" Vanellope snickered, gripping onto Taffyta's hands tighter "I'm sure we can take out ugly in no time flat!"

Taffyta looked into the eyes of her friends, realizing that despite everything that she faced, she always found the strength to conquer it.

That was one of the things that Taffyta envied the most about Vanellope; she always would be stronger than her, no matter what.

At racing, at ruling, and now at looking right into the face of evil itself.

The racer began to panic. She was so sure she could rush in and save Vanellope before anything happened but here she was, unable to even gather up the courage to face the monster that had been tormenting her and the rest of the citizens of her home.

Why did she always have to be a coward? Why?

"V-Vanellope….I-I can't-!"

"YES, YOU CAN!" Vanellope said, turning her friend towards her "WHY ARE YOU HOLDING YOURSELF BACK, TAFFFYTA!? YOU WERE NEVER LIKE THIS BEFORE KING CANDY CAME HERE!"

Taffyta once again looked into Vanellope's eyes, but this time around she saw just how glossed over they were, looking as if the tears would flow at any second.

Vanellope was scared.

Vanellope was just like her; she was a kid who just wanted to have but now she was a kid who was looking right into the face of danger…..

And she was scared.

No, she couldn't hide in fear anymore!

For fifteen years, she had let someone else cloud her mind and since the reset, she had let fear drive her.

It was fear that was allowing her to let the insults so many characters threw at her get to her.

It was fear that was keeping her from enjoying her passion of racing.

It was fear that was keeping her from fully enjoying every moment she now how to spend with her best friend.

This had to stop. It had to stop NOW.

The blond racer gulped back, feeling a sense of anger fill her as she turned back towards the virus, the anti-viral bomb still clenched in her hands.

"You've done enough damage, ugly!" Taffyta growled, floating closer to the beast "BUT IT ENDS NOW!"

For a moment or two, the virus seemed to cower at the sight of the bomb but it then began to chuckle. The two racers looked a little confused for a moment as the laughter only grew to that of a maniacal cackle.

"Is that it? Is that REALLY all ya got?!" the virus spat, its huge teeth snapping right in front of the girls.

"D-don't act like ya don't know this thing is gonna blow ya ta kingdom come!" Vanellope said, pointing towards the monster.

"HA! That little thing?! With the power I have now, that shouldn't be any more of a nuisance than a sneeze!" laughed the virus, throwing its head back.

"Ya believe that?" Vanellope glanced over to her friend.

"I don't know!" whispered Taffyta "Sgt. Calhoun said this thing would be able to clear out a virus of its class but….but its right! It has absorbed too much power! The best we might be able to do is weaken it!"

"Good enough for me!" Vanellope said as she clenched her first "I just want it outta here and I want it out NOW!"

Before Taffyta had a chance to act, Vanellope bolted towards the virus, screaming all the way.

"WHAT ARE YOU-?!"

Vanellope gave the creature a good bop on the nose, but it served only to startle it.

"OH!"

Vanellope looked back at Taffyta, as if to tell her to make her move and as such she did, pushing off and trying to float out of the sight of the monster.

"Do you really think that would work?" the monster hissed.

"It got your attention didn't it?" Vanellope chuckled, crossing her arms.

"It did, little one. It did….." the virus glared, all four of its eyes narrowing.

Taffyta continued to float-swim as fast as she could, looking for the main root of the virus.

"I-I just gotta get this thing to absorb it somehow!" she thought to herself.

She continued to float, not realizing that right behind her was a surprise.

A frightening surprise.

Taffyta felt something grab her ankles and pulling her back at great speeds. Due to the force, the girl lost her grip on the anti-virus belt, the thing being taken by what she could only guess was some sort of tendril.

"NOOOOOOO!"

"TAFFYTA!" yelled Vanellope, taking her eyes off the virus.

"GOTCHA!"

Before Vanellope had a chance to react, she too was gripped by a tendril, the creepy arm holding her in a crushing grip.

"URGH! I KNEW YA WERE UGLY BEFORE BUT NOT LIKE THIS!"

"I might be UGLY to you little bugs, but I still have much more control over this game than you think!" the virus hissed, holding the two girls next to each other, enjoying their weak attempts to wriggle free from its grip.

"Yes, continue to fight! It makes my appetite all the more stronger!"

"The bomb!" shrieked Taffyta.

"What about it?!"

"IT GOT IT! IT GOT THE BOMB!"

"WHAT?!"

Vanellope looked off to the side, seeing one of the tendrils dangling the bomb belt teasingly at the girls.

"I don't think you'll be needing this anymore!" cooed the virus as it tossed the thing away, dashing any and all hopes the girls had of destroying the monster.

"NO! THIS CAN'T BE IT!"

"But it is, and I have YOU two to thank for it!"

Vanellope and Taffyta both growled at the virus, wanting nothing but to attack it right where it stood.

"Though I have to admit, this King Candy fellow? Whatever he did to you two, I should thank him! He made it so much easier for me to break into this place and take over!"

The virus then rested on the masses of code boxed that made up the game as if they were some sort of cushion.

"While I will admit that it has been fun, I must get things completed!"

"Wh-what are ya gonna do?!" Vanellope sputtered, trying her best to remain brave in the face of all destruction.

The virus sneered as it then spread its tendrils down the wires of the boxes, slowly infecting every character in the game, save for Vanellope and Taffyta.

"I'm going to watch this game crumble an' you two are going to do it with me!"

Both girls watched in horror as the virus began to subject the boxes to a great surge of energy, frying them from the inside out.

* * *

Back outside the castle, the fight continued, Sugar Rush racers and Hero's Duty soldiers fighting hand in hand to rid the game of the viruses but no matter how much they fought, it only seemed like the drones numbers were increasing.

Kowalski found his gun hitting empty, throwing the thing towards the virus he was fighting before socking it in the face.

"SARGE! WE'RE RUNNIN' OUTTA POWER HERE!"

Calhoun cursed to herself once she realized that she and her team were becoming out numbered.

"WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO EVCAULATE!"

"WHAT?! NO!" cried Swizzle "VANELLOPE AND TAFFYTA ARE STILL IN THERE!"

The woman shook her head, trying her best to think on her toes.

"UUUURGH! FELIX!"

"YEAH?!"

"GET THE KIDS OUTTA HERE! BIG RED AN' I ARE GONNA TRY TA CHARGE AGAIN!"

"But I can't leave ya here-!"

"JUST DO IT!"

Felix nodded as he darted from the viruses, ready to gather up the racers to lead them out of the game.

"C-come on kids, we gotta go!"

"NO!" Swizz said, tearing his arms away from Felix "We're staying here and-!"

Before the boy had a chance to answer, he let out a horrid cry, falling to the ground as he held his middle in pain.

"Kid?! KID!"

"UUUUURGH! W-WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Swizz moaned, the pain becoming too much to bear.

Felix stood and looked back towards his wife "TAMMY! THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG!"

Just then Candlehead let out a scream as she too fell to the ground, shivering horribly, glitching in and out. Calhoun looked over, horror on her face.

"Oh no! ITS ERASING THEM!"

One after another, the racers dropped like flies, crying out in agony as their code began to disintegrate. Ralph and Felix ran over to the kids but as they touched them, their hands went right through them.

"This can't be happening! TELL ME ITS NOT!"

Calhoun let out a roar as she continued to shooting, "WE HAVE TO GET BACK INTO THE PALACE! BEFORE-!"

A large explosion hit the area, the candy castle warping and crumbling as it seem to be collapsing in on itself.

"Calhoun?! What's going on?!" Ralph asked, backing up towards the woman.

"Its…it's a CRASH!"

* * *

"STOP IT! STOP IT NOW" Vanellope cried in grief as she watched the virus continue to burrow its way into her friends' code.

"But it's so much fun!"

"NO! STOP IT! STOP IT! I'll DO ANYTHING! JUST DON'T HURT THEM!"

"VANELLOPE!" Taffyta said in shock, horrified that Vanellope was giving into the virus like this.

The raven haired racer kept her head down, crying horribly as tears fell from her eyes. She looked up, true hurt and pain on her face.

"I lost my family fifteen years ago thanks to some CREEP and ever since then, no one here wants to believe how much I love and care about them!"

Taffyta couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her eyes watered over, feeling weak.

"The last thing I want to do is watch them get rubbed out because…because of ME!" Vanellope chocked "So please! TAKE ME! I'll give you my entire code, you can have it all! JUST DON'T HURT THEM!"

"VANELLOPE! DON'T LET IT TAKE YOU!"

The virus smiled warmly at the two girls, still holding them tight.

"Oh, that's such a sweet offer….but I'm afraid that it's much too late."

"W-what?" Vanellope said weakly, her eyes widening in fear.

"Had you done your little show earlier on, I would have obliged but now? Now that I have everything I need, your measly code and data just won't do!"

The grip of the tendrils only began to tighten around the girls, making them cry out in pain as the air was being squeezed from them. The monster approached, grinning evilly, licking its sharp teeth.

"And even better? I'll have a couple of heavy duty soldiers and two old guys to enjoy as well! This day just keeps getting better and better!"

From the tight grip, Taffyta opened an eye, seeing that the belt was caught on a mass of wires.

She could see it, yet it was so far away.

"Why? Why does it have to end like this?" Taffyta asked herself.

"Because of you…." Hissed the virus, somehow able to get into the racer's head.

"M-my fault?!"

"Yeeeeess, it is your fault. And it has always been your fault!"

The viruses was once again playing its mind games on the two girls, enjoying the final moments of bending them to its will before it would devour them.

"Oh, Taffyta Muttonfudge, you've been a horrid little girl. Acting so terrible to this so called person you call a friend!"

The virus thrust the two closer to each other but they were so drained, they didn't even realize what was going on. Through her clouded vision, she was sure he could see the form of Vanellope before her but at this point, she just didn't now.

"No…no, I'm not a bad person!" Taffyta whimpered, tears once again falling from her eyes "Why won't any of you believe me?!"

There goes that Muttonfugdge kid! What a joke!

_She's just as lame as her racing!_

_I can't believe anyone would like her! She was programmed to be rotten and that's all she will ever be!_

_She can't change! She's just a bully!_

_BULLY!_

_BULLY_

_BULLY!_

The words that swirled through Taffyta's head were becoming too much for her. She cried, she kicked, she wanted to free herself from the bound that she was in.

But then.

But then she remembered.

She remembered that memory.

_Vanellope…..do you think I can change?_

_Why would you need to change?_

_Because I've done so many terrible things, that's why._

_I know what you did was bad, but I want you to think of one thing._

_Yeah?_

_Who was that person who called me names? That person who pushed me in the mud?_

_That was…that was me?_

_No._

_What?_

_Would the REAL Taffyta Muttonfudge do that? No. None of it was real. Everything, it was lies, sugar-coated by some jerk who just wanted to be the center of attention. Taffyta, the reason you don't need to change is because I know the REAL Taffyta Muttonfudge and the real Taffyta is a good person! She is the fastest racer, the toughest sport, and…and she is my best friend!_

_Vanellope…._

_And I don't want my best friend to change because of people who refuse to see the same good I see._

_Taffyta._

_You're my best friend and you will always be!_

Taffyta's eyes shot open as she looked right into the face of the beast. She scowled in anger and managed to wriggle her arms free.

"GET OUTTA MY HEAD YOU FREAK!"

Bearing down, Taffyta bit the tendril as hard as she could, the thing writhing in pain as it loosened its grip, allowing for the girl to free herself.

"VANELLOPE!"

Taffyta then blew over to Vanellope, kicking and scratching at anything that came her way.

"Vanellope! Vanellope! Please wake up!" the girl cried as she shook the other racer.

No response, just cold blue eyes.

Had Vanellope been lost?

"Vanellope! I know you're in there! PLEASE HEAR ME!"

"T-Taffyta?"

A smile began to form on the strawberry racer's face, seeing that Vanellope was coming to "YES! YES!"

"Wh-what is this?!" the virus screeched, flying towards the girls in rage.

Taffyta screamed in horror as she then pulled Vanellope from the grip of the tendrils, floating off somewhere in the code void.

"Nelly! Nelly! Tell me you're there!"

"I-I am!" the girl said, shaking her head "But WOW! That thing will ALWAYS remind me of a brain freeze!"

"YOU LITTLE WORTHLESS BITS OF DATA!" the virus roared "I WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY YOU!"

The virus once again swung its arms, hitting the two and knocking them back even further into the void.

Taffyta rubbed her lip on her sleeve, tasting the blood.

"Ya know, I've had about enough of you as I can!" the racer growled as she took a few power ups that were in her pocket and hurled them at the virus.

Of course, she expected the things to do nothing but it was worth a try anyway.

But then….

HOT ROCKS!

SHOOTING SUGAR STARS!

CHOCOLATE RAIN!

All three of the power-ups activated as they hit the virus, causing it to bellow in pain.

"What the-?!"

"Did…did you just do that?!" Vanellope said in amazement.

Taffyta looked at her hands, still confused as to what happened.

"But you said that the void would null any powers in here!"

"No…" Vanellope said as she thought back "It IS the virus! After you broke free, you must have weakened its hold or SOMETHIN'!"

"But that means!"

"THAT MEANS I CAN GLITCH!" Vanellope said powerfully as she glitched right towards Taffyta and vanished right before a massive tendrils was about to come down and smash her.

The two appeared a good distance away safe but Vanellope looked drained once more.

"Nelly?! What's wrong?!" Taffyta asked in concern, holding her friend.

"Guess somethin' is still messin' with me!"

"FOOLS!" the virus roared as it tried to spot the two in the darkness "I AM NOT THROUGH WITH YOU YET! I STILL HAVE CONTROL OVER THIS MEASELY WORLD OF YOURS SO NO AMOUNT OF HOPPING AROUND WILL SAVE YOU!"

Taffyta gulped again. Things were getting dangerously close to the end and if they didn't do something soon, everyone in Sugar Rush would be deleted and consumed by the virus.

But what could she do? Vanellope was exhausted and the belt-!

"THE BELT!"

Taffyta looked over to the side and saw that it was so close, still tangled in a mass of wires. The strawberry racer took hold of Vanellope and shook her.

"Ya hafta glitch over there and get it Nelly! It's our only chance!"

Vanellope was out of breath, her chest hurting and her head swimming.

"I-I can't! Glitching it too difficult to do now when I'm this weak!"

What to do? What to do?

Time was running out!

Taffyta could hear the screams and cries of her friends, their boxes echoing the pain as they sparked in front of her eyes.

She was the only one that was still powered enough to do something, but what?

Power.

She still had power!

Taffyta gripped onto Vanellope's hand tightly, pulling her hat down.

"Nelly, I know ya don't think ya can GLITCH but you can, and you can do it with me!"

"W-what?!"

"USE MY ENERGY TO POWER YOURSELF!"

"W-will that even work?" Vanellope asked, worry in her eyes.

"It's worth a try!" Taffyta said powerfully, pointing towards the location of the belt "Just go towards the belt"

Vanellope nodded as she held tight to Taffyta's hand.

"C'mon Nelly….glitch! Glitch! GLITCH!"

A tingle went through Taffyta as she and Vanellope once again vanished from sight, just as the virus was ready to attack again.

"WHERE DID THEY-?!"

The two then appeared besides the belt which Taffyta quickly untangled from the wires.

"AGAIN!"

Vanellope nodded as she took ahold of her friend's hand and again disappeared into the void.

The virus gave a roar, its eyes shooting off great bolts of light in every direction.

"WHERE ARE THEY?!"

What the virus didn't know was that the two had reappeared behind it, the virus bomb in hand. The two looked at the thing before looking at each other.

"I-I could try glitching us outta here before the bomb goes off!" Vanellope said.

The strawberry racer shook her head sadly.

"This thing still has the entire code room sealed! Even if we wanted to get out, we couldn't!"

"B-but what do we do?!"

"Nelly…ya know what we have to do!"

Vanellope looked at Taffyta in shock but a cross look appeared on her face.

"NO! NO! I can't do it! Not when you're here!"

"But Vanellope!"

"No! I'm sick of this! I'm sick of always having to fight! I'm sick of always losing my friends! I'm sick-!"

Taffyta took Vanellope by the hand, a look of calmness on her face.

"Vanellope….I don't care. I don't care now."

"What do you mean-?"

"If it means saving everyone, I don't care what happens now…."

Vanellope was near to tears as she looked at the smile on her friends face. She sobbed a bit but a smile formed on her face.

"I can't believe that of all people, Taffyta Muttonffudge is sayin' this!"

"Hey, ya hafta give me some credit! I'm not-!"

Before the girl could finish, Vanellope took her into her arms, hugging her tightly.

"I just want you to know…if the tables were flipped, if I had a chance of getting' out….I wouldn't leave you either. Not now, not ever."

Taffyta blinked in shock but was soon overcome with happiness, tears streaming down her face once more as she held tight onto Vanellope.

"Thank you…..thank you so much."

The two girls heard a growl before them, turning in time to see the monstrous form of the virus hovering in front of them.

"I'm not going down…." It hissed.

The two girls floated before the beast, looks of anger on their face as they both held the detonator to the bomb in their hands.

"I AM NOT GOING DOWN BECAUSE OF YOU!" the virus screeched as it charged the girls.

"Ready?" asked Vanellope, her hands shaking a bit.

"Ready." Taffyta said.

Everything in the void seemed to slow down at the moment. The virus was mere inches away from the two and just when it seemed like they would get devoured….

*Click*

Both girls pushed down on the button, a flash of light forming in the middle of them.

The virus stopped in its tracks, a look of horror on its face once it knew what was happening. It was too close, it was too weak, there was no way it could survive what was about to happen next.

It tried to flee but it was much too late.

The light increased, growing in size as it began to engulf the entire code void, Vanellope and Taffyta included.

* * *

A bright light was beginning to form outside the remains of the palace, so bright that Calhoun had to hold her hands over her eyes to even see what was happening.

But it all came together and it made the woman's heart drop.

"No. They didn't!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOM!

The massive light washed over the entire game, bathing everyone in its power. Every drone in the area dropped to the ground before being phased out and as the three adults looked on, the candy castle began to rebuild itself right before them.

"My land!" Felix said in awe "I don't know if my hammer has enough power ta do THAT!"

Inside the code room, all was still and silent. The code boxes of the racers and citizens were once again back to normal and it didn't take long for the effect to be seen outside.

Swizz blinked, his head feeling a bit heavy but the pain he had felt before had stopped. He touched his chest, seeing that he was once again whole.

"I'm okay?" the boy said "I'M OKAY!"

He then turned to see the others getting up as well and he couldn't help but dash over to Minty, jumping right into her arms.

"OH, MINTZ! EVERYONE IS ALRIGHT!"

Minty looked over at Swizz for a moment or two before socking him right in the face.

"EY! EY! Give us some time to breath before you break down on us!" the girl said angrily.

"LOOK! THE CASTLE! IT'S BACK!" Candlehead cheered, hopping up and down.

Everyone was so taken by the sight of the game once again returning to normal that they missed on important detail.

Two racers were missing.

Ralph let out a gasped as he then jumped up and ran through the doors, not caring if he broke them off their hinges.

"R-Ralph! WAIT!" Felix called, following right after the big man.

Ralph hoofed it all the way up to the throne room and as soon as he entered….

Nothing.

He looked around, his heart pounding but the only thing he saw was an empty throne room.

"N-no…."

Calhoun and Felix then entered, followed by the other racers.

"Th-they should be here!" Ralph chocked out, falling to his knees.

"They took the full blast…." Calhoun said mournfully "And any data, normal or virus, can never come back from a full blast of an anti-viral."

Indeed, Calhoun was right.

While the rest of the boxes were intact and fine, two boxes floated about, their lights dim.

And those boxes belong to Vanellope Von Schweetz and Taffyta Muttonfudge.

The virus had set off to claim a game and while it had failed in that effort, it seemed that it had succeeded in claiming the lives of two racers, the lifeless boxes floating aimlessly in the void.


	14. Finale

Shelved- Finale

The hours of the night lingered on as Calhoun and her team worked desperately to find any trace of Vanellope and Taffyta in the game but no matter how much they combed through the code void, they found nothing, just the remains of what seemed to be two dead code-boxes.

Ralph, Felix and the other racers tried their best to remain awake, just in case something would happen but as they waited, they just couldn't fight off the exhaustion. Ralph rested near one of the walls of the palace, the tiny racers all piled on top of him sound asleep.

Felix on the other hand tried to make himself busy, fixing anything that still seemed broken but it was obvious he was just fixing things out of pure nervousness, on edge at the slightest word that something was happening in the code void. Unable to take the silence any more, Felix ran to the void, seeing his wife standing at the edge of the door, guarding a licorice rope that was tethered to the frame.

"Still nothin'?"

Calhoun sighed as she shook her head; she was trying to remain positive but after so long, she didn't know what to think anymore.

"Mouse is the best programmer in my game, hun! If anyone was made to crack a conundrum like this, it was her!"

Calhoun then pulled on Mouse's licorice tether, "Find anything yet?"

Mouse groaned in frustration as she floated along the void, inspecting the two unresponsive code boxes.

"Still nothin' sarge!"

"Keep trying! Their boxes are still in the game so they couldn't have been completely erased!"

Mouse was already aware of this fact; if the anti-virus bomb HAD truly wiped out the two girls, then their code boxes and anything connected to them would have wiped away completely but as to the reason why their boxes were still there, yet not functioning, it was all a mystery. Mouse had never encountered a problem like this and as she toiled away, she felt her hopes growing dimmer by the minuet.

She stopped for a moment, rubbing her tired eyes "Come on Mousey. You can do this!"

The tech looked at the boxes for a moment. Maybe she was going about this all wrong. There had to be a reason she couldn't get access.

"I could do it the cave-man way; just unplug and replug!" she thought to herself.

No, bad idea.

If she did that, she would probably end up damaging Taffyta's code and making Vanellope's even worse. She knew what King Candy had done thanks to the reports she had gotten and she knew the risks involved. It was too dangerous.

"Darn it! What am I doing wrong?!"

The woman turned around, floating her way back to the vault.

"Sarge…I can't do this!"

Calhoun took Mouse by the hand and pulled her back into the hall, "Come on, you have to try."

"I just-! I don't know! My brain is movin' a million miles an hour yet I see NOTHIN'! This is a puzzle I can't crack!"

From inside the throne room, Ralph stirred a bit, hearing the ranting of Mouse from the hall.

"I don't know if we'll EVER be able to get them back online, ma'am!"

"WHAT?!"

Ralph suddenly stood up, the pile of racers rolling off of him as he did so.

"Oh…is it time for breakfast?" Candlehead yawned, completely forgetting what was happening.

Ralph bounded into the hall, nearly knocking everyone over as he approached.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T GET 'EM BACK ONLINE!?"

Mouse yelped as the huge man stood over her, but she quickly recovered, adjusting her glasses.

"I-I don't know what else I can do! I've tried getting through via hacking but that wouldn't work! I've tried a simple reset but that wouldn't even power them up!"

Ralph grabbed the woman and lifed her off the ground, shaking her a bit "COME ON! CALHOUN SAID YOU WERE THE BRAINS OF THE GAME! YOU SHOULD KNOW!"

"Easy there you two!" Calhoun said "Give your brain some time to rest for a sec, Mouse. Work too hard there, you might suffer a blow-out…."

"Yes, Sargent." The other woman said, holding her head down "But the big guy is right! This is my job! I can't just let something like this get the better of me, 'specially since these two have people waitin' for 'em!"

Mouse looked at Calhoun before turning back to Ralph.

"I'm goin' back!"

Leaping from Ralphs' hands, Mouse then took off for the void once more, going back for the boxes and feverishly working her way towards them.

"If only this could be fixed with a simple tap of a hammer…." Felix said sadly, looking down at his hammer.

He had fixed so many things in the thirty years he had been in the arcade but this was the first time he had ever felt so helpless, so useless. But this? This was way out of his power.

This didn't stop the group from trying however and Mouse went right to work trying to crack the code. Her brain continued to tick away, searching for any clue as to what to do.

"Okay, maybe I'm thinking about this the wrong way….We have two code boxes. Simple stuff, yet they are not going back online despite all the other boxes being powered up."

The woman floated for a bit, thinking deeply.

"There isn't a short in anything I could detect…." Her eyes then opened wide "Then maybe something else is locking them out!"

The woman's brain felt like it exploded within her head! She had figured out part of the puzzle!

"THAT'S IT! When the anti-virus bomb went off…maybe since their boxes WEREN'T in direct contact with the virus anymore, they locked themselves in order to protect their data from being erased during the sweep! That HAS to be it!"

Mouse then slid the covers of both boxes, touching a few buttons here and there. There was a high pitched beep as screens appeared on both surfaces.

Password keys.

She had chipped her way into the system!

"YES!" Mouse cheered.

Ralph and Calhoun turned to see the woman floating around in jubilation, her hands in the air.

"Mouse?!"

"I FIGURED OUT HALF THE PUZZLE!" Mouse cried from the void "I just need their passwords!"

"Their passwords?! Who knows their passwords besides….THEM?!" asked Ralph.

"Right…we hit another wall." Calhoun groaned.

Mouse rubbed her chin, another idea hitting her "I could enter a master password but…."

"But what?" asked Ralph, nearly going out into the void himself.

Mouse knew that she was going to need more help with this one so without thinking twice, she floated back over to the giant wrecker and took his arm.

"Need ta borrow him for a sec!"

The woman than pulled Ralph into the void, stopping once they got to the code boxes.

"Okay big guys, here's the thing! I can enter a master password into the boxes but…but if I do, it will reset EVERYTHING. Their memories will be wiped and….and the kid won't recognize you."

Ralph growled as he balled his fist "I thought the being in the vicinity of that BOMB would erase their memories but this TOO!?"

"That's the risk of bein' made of data…." The tech replied "But if you know her password and enter it, everything will be saved!"

"But I don't KNOW her password! She never told me because…because we never even thought of something like this happenin'!"

"COME ON WRECFK-IT! It has to be something simple! Something….something that is connected to both girls!" Mouse then pointed to the key pad "Look, each of their key pads have a specific amount of letters to put in so it can't be that hard to figure out!"

Ralph looked at the pad, thinking hard. He counted the spaces on Vanellope's box, trying his best to even come up with an idea to what the code could be.

"Seven, eight, nine, ten….ten. Ten letters, no numbers by the way the keyboard is set up. Wh-what could it be?"

Ralph thought and thought, the lump in his throat seemingly growing as he felt the agony of knowing he might not be able to see his friend again.

"Come on! Come on! It's no wonder she calls me stink bra-!"

Ralph stopped, his eyes widening.

"Stink brain."

"What?"

"STINK BRAIN! TEN LETTERS! IT'S STINK BRAIN!"

Mouse then typed the letters into the key pad and as she pressed the enter button.

Ding.

Perfect fit.

"It worked?" Ralph asked in a thin voice, his eyes peering over to Mouse.

"I'm-I'm in!" Mouse said, her voice filling with confidence. She then turned and grabbed Ralph by his cheeks, squishing them "I'M IN! BIG GUY YA GOT ME IN!"

Ralph wasn't sure how to respond so he simple nodded his head, "MMPH! GOOD! NOW WHATH?!"

Mouse jumped back in front of the box, typing furiously "Okay, I just need to put everything back online before we can get her back and we still have one more to go!"

Ralph looked over to Taffyta's box, peering at the keypad that glowed in front of him "O-okay! Taffyta, Taffyta! She…she likes strawberries right?!"

Mouse looked over at Ralph as if she didn't understand a word he said "Er, I guess. You know her better than I do!"

"R-Right! So it has to be straw-!"

Mouse threw out a hand before Ralph, "No, it can't be either! Strawberry of Strawberries would be too long!"

Ralph looked down and found that Mouse was right; Taffyta's code was one letter shorter than Vanellope's and both of the words he had suggested were too long. Ralph growled in frustration as he found himself once again stumped.

"Okay! Pink? NO! That's FOUR letters, Ralph! Racer? URGH! SUGAR RUSH?"

Mouse looked over at Ralph again, a glint of hope in her eyes "Th-that is nine!"

"Then try it!" Ralph said frantically.

Mouse typed in the code but upon entering it, a buzzer went off!

"Wrong choice!" Mouse frowned.

"WHAT?! How could that not be it?!"

Mouse tried to enter the password again, making sure that she hadn't typed it incorrectly.

"Okay, I can only bet that I have so many tries before I get locked out of the system for 24 hours so we need to make our guesses count, and by that I WANT THE NEXT WORD TO WORK!"

Ralph jumped back a bit; Mouse was more frantic than he was at this point!

"J-just give me a sec!"

Nine letters.

Something that was related to Taffyta.

Ralph had to admit that while he had gotten used to Taffyta hanging out with Vanellope again, he STILL didn't know too much about her. This was proving to be a bad spot in the situation that was set before him. Everything he tried to connect with Taffyta ended up being either too short or too long to fit into the password pad.

"COME ON RAPLH!" Mouse shouted.

Ralph held out his hands in front of himself for defense "Stay cool! I'm tryin' as fast as I'm-!"

Stay?

Stay!

What was that saying that Taffyta always said?

STAY SWEET.

STAY SWEET!

Ralph looked over to the box and, being as careful as he could be with such enormous fingers, he began to type in the passcode.

"What are you doing?!" the tech said, obviously a little peeved that Ralph was now doing HER job.

S-T-A-Y S-W-E-E-T

"Try it…" the man said, looking over at the woman.

Mouse looked over at Ralph, unsure what to think but knowing the gravity of the situation, Mouse had no other choice. She punched in the enter button and…..

A bright pink glow began to surround Taffyta's code box.

ONLINE.

"You did it…." Mouse whispered, a smile coming on her face "YOU DID IT!"

Ralph and Mouse cheered, the solider getting a little too excited and leaping onto Ralph and covering his faces with kisses.

"OH THANK THE PROGRAMMERS!"

"Er, so-so what's next?" Ralph asked, blushing like mad.

Mouse began to type away at the boxes, moving things here, moving them there.

"Almost done…."

Once everything was set, there was only one thing to do. The woman then began to push Ralph back towards the opening of the void, a smile on her face.

"Gather everyone in the throne room! We're about to go back online!"

* * *

The racers and several candy citizens ran into the throne room once they had been made aware as to what about to happen.

Was it true? Had they found a way to bring Vanellope and Taffyta back?

Calhoun then saw Ralph coming from the code room.

"Is Mouse alright?"

"Yeah!" the large man panted "She's just about to put everything back!"

In the void, Mouse continued to float, both her hands on the enter buttons. She trembled a bit; if things went according to plan, the two girls would return to their game unharmed.

But if it didn't.

"No, Mouse. This isn't the time for fear. Ya gotta press on!"

Mouse took a deep breath.

And pushed the enter buttons on both boxes.

A loud hum filled the area as the two boxes began to levitate, hovering in place and joining their spots with the other racers. A great deal of sparks and lights began to pour forth, Mouse furiously float-swimming her way back to the door.

"Ooooh, I hope you didn't break anything, Mouse!"

Inside the throne room, nothing seemed to happen, everyone growing all the more nervous by the second.

"C'mon kids!" Ralph whispered to himself.

Just then, a few sparks began to form in the middle of the trone.

"LOOK!" said Sakura, pointing towards the light.

The sparks began to increase, only to be joined by the formation of several bits of binary, the code swirling together. The group held their breaths, watching as the code began to form into mesh and the mesh began to form into what appeared to be two figures.

"It's…it's working!" Ralph said, his eyes widening.

The figures then began to reform right before everyone's eyes and with one more flash of light…..

There stood Vanellope Von Schweetz and Taffyta Muttonfudge.

Ralph took a step forwards cautiously, the girls not moving an inch as they stood, their eyes closed.

"Vanellope? Taffyta?"

Vanellope slowly opened her eyes, seeing the large gathering of people before her. A moment later, Taffyta followed suit, her head dizzy and her vision blurry.

"G-Guys?" the president said, her voice still weak.

The looks on the racers' faces began to brighten as smiles formed. After so much worry, their friends were back.

Vanellope looked over to Taffyta, the strawberry racer turning her head as well. It took a second or two but the realization of what had happened was slowly coming to them. They touched hands, shaking once they saw that they were once again solid forms. Their eyes went back to each other, unsure what to do.

"We're back?" squeaked Taffyta.

Vanellope could no longer hold back her excitement. She jumped into the air, glitching as she did so.

"WE'RE BACK!"

The two then embraced each other tightly, a loud joyous cheer erupting inside the castle.

"VANELLOPE AND TAFFYTA ARE BACK!" the kids cheered joyfully as they ran over to the two and swarmed over them, hugging both of the girls.

Mouse then appeared from the code void, just relieved to see that her efforts weren't done in vain.

"Whew, at least I didn't break anything!" the tech laughed to herself.

Calhoun rested a hand on the younger character's shoulder, a smile on her face. She didn't say a word but Mouse could tell that her commanding officer was proud of her.

Ralph ran over to Vanellope, plucking her from the crowd and hugging her tight, "Oh NELLY! I'm so glad you're back!"

The little racer returned the hug, burying her face in Ralph's chest.

"I'm glad to be back stink brain! Ya have NO idea!"

As Taffyta looked over at the two hugging, she couldn't help but smile. It just felt so good to see her friend happy after everything that had happened.

And it was at that moment that everything that had bothered Taffyta in the past, all the fear and jealousy, was gone.

It was if a giant weight had been lifted from her shoulders and for the first time in a long time, she felt like things were FINALLY the way they were, the way things SHOULD have been from the beginning.

"Ya know, ya really did a lot to help get Vanellope back…" Calhoun said as she walked over to Taffyta, kneeling down to her.

The little racer tried to play cool, giving the older woman a sneer "What can I say? It IS the Muttonfudge way!"

Calhoun smiled as she placed a hand on Taffyta's head, "Yeah, and it worked wonders kid!"

While everyone was happy to have things back in order, it was still a work day and the arcade was soon to open. Once everyone had calmed down, the soldiers prepared to return to their game, Felix and Ralph joining them.

There was only one question remaining; what now?

"For starters, I'm going to initiate some better safe-guards for this place!" Calhoun said as she gathered up her soldiers "One run in with a virus was bad enough! We don't need more!"

"That's gonna take a lotta work, Sargent!" Mouse said "We still don't have enough of the proper equipment and with some viruses being able to make their way through certain firewalls? Huh, easier said than done!"

"Don't worry about it. I have my BEST technician on the job so I know I can count on her!"

Mouse nodded, a powerful look on her face as she then saluted, "Yes ma'am!"

"Well, it's almost time ta get back to the grind…." Felix said as he gave Ralph a pat on the back.

"Yeah. Just when ya think we'll have some time to actually RELAX after saving the arcade AGAIN, it's back to work as usual!" chuckled Ralph.

"Oh, maybe…." Vanellope said with a snicker "But once the arcade closes, I need ya guys back here PRONTO!"

"Hmm? Why?"

Vanellope looked back at Calhoun, the two exchanging glances, "You'll see."

* * *

Once the arcade had closed, a large gathering had formed in Sugar Rush. All day, there were rumors of a special announcement being made but that was all that was given. People were curious as to what was going on and once they entered the game, they found themselves being lead to the track but there wasn't a race being held.

Instead, it was a celebration.

The entire track had been decorated as if someone, or several people, were going to be commemorated but for what?

"So, do you know what's going on?" asked Ryu.

"Not a clue!" Chun-Li said with a chuckle "But hey! They said there was going to be a party later on, so why not?"

Just then, a great fanfare began to blare from the sound system, several little candy people and Hero's Duty soldiers marching towards the starting line, each one carrying the flags of all the racers in the game. The group then stopped and placed the flag in their stands, walking off the track as the racers then appeared, each one filed one after another and stopping in front of their flags, looking proud as they puffed out their chest. Of course, they were more than excited and found it difficult to hide back their smiles.

Something was coming.

Just then Vanellope, Sour Bill, and Calhoun appeared, Calhoun carrying a large box in her hands. Bill then hopped on the podium, adjusting the microphone.

"Ahem, can everyone hear me aright?"

There was a bit of feedback but is faded out a second later.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of Sugar Rush, Vanellope Von Schweetz!"

The crowd erupted into applause as Vanellope approached the podium, bowing gracefully to the crowd.

"Thank you everyone! Thank you!"

The cheering died down as Vanellope prepared to say her speech.

"I consider myself a really lucky person. You have no idea how lucky. I am the leader of a game, I am one of the best racers in the arcade, but the thing that makes me really lucky is the fact that I have friends who would do ANYTHING to help me, even if it meant risking their own lives!"

Vanellope turned back to her friends, giving them a heartfelt smile.

"A few nights ago, someone tried to take that away from me. I already know what it feels like to lose everything but this time, it hurt more than ever. It hurt because unlike the last take over, I had to watch as my friends were being tested like never before, not knowing whether or not they would make it. But as I saw, they were going to stop at nothing to get our home….and ME….back. They didn't have to help me. They could have just escaped on their own, but they didn't. They were thinking about ME. They were almost ERASED from this game but when they were told to get out, they didn't. That ladies and gentlemen is what I call dedication!"

Vanellope then hopped down from the podium and looked at her friends, her hands clasped together.

"I don't know what I would have done if I lost ANY of your guys. I wouldn't be Von Schweetz without the rest of ya!"

The racers looked at each other, happier than one could even imagine.

"And for your bravery, Sgt. Calhoun and I would like to reward you guys with these!"

The racer looked a little confused for a moment or two; they knew that this was a special occasion but just what was planned? Calhoun walked up, opening the box and revealing to the racers special made medals for each of them.

"Kids, for your acts of valor and protecting the ruler of this game, I award you with these medals of honor and, with the permission from MY commander and by request of Vanlleope, you are now honorary Hero's Duty scouts."

The kids could only look in awe as they stared up at Calhoun, their eyes then going to Vanellope who was grinning from ears to ear.

"Congratulations guys!"

The President then placed the medals around each of her friends' necks, pride swelling in their hearts.

"A-are you serious?!" asked Snowanna.

"You mean it?" Adorabezzle squeaked.

Vanellope nodded, "After all the work you guys did, you deserve it."

The racers all began to cheer in glee but then remembered that they were in front of an audience. They lined back up, each standing at attention in front of Calhoun and Vanellope.

"Scouts?" Calhoun called, standing tall.

"YES MA'AM!" the racers replied.

"ATTENTION!"

The racers straightened up, looks of pride on their faces.

"Congratulations!"

"THANK YOU, MA'AM!"

The racers and soldiers then exchanged salutes, smiles planted on everyone's faces.

"C-Butt! C-BUTT!" whispered Minty as she jabbed the candle-headed racer in the side.

"What?"

"You're saluting the wrong way!"

"Oh, right!" the racer replied, switching hands and still smiling gleefully.

"An' now that we got that done, IT'S TIME TA CELEBRATE!" Vanellope cheered towards the crowd, everyone bursting into applause.

* * *

"Ya know, I wasn't a bit afraid when those virus boggers began to attack!" Rancis said smugly to several OLDER, female arcade characters, sipping a Shirley Temple "But what do ya expect from someone as brave as ME! Handsom AND brave? The best combo since peanut butter and chocolate!"

"Rancy, PLEASE! I heard ya screaming all the way from the castle!" Minty chimed in, chuckling as she have the peanut butter racer a friendly slug on the shoulder, perhaps too hard.

Vanellope couldn't' have been more happy as she walked around the party, seeing everyone enjoying themselves. Not only was everyone together but everyone saw the racers for who they really were.

Not bullies.

Not as simple tag-alongs.

But as the friends and family that Vanellope saw them as.

"Yeah, this is just what I wanted…." The racer said to herself, taking in all the grandeur that surrounded her.

"Hey Schweetz!" said a rather catty voice from behind her.

Vanellope spun around to see Taffyta, lollipop clenched in between her teeth, grinning down at her.

"Where ya headin' off to? Don't tell me you're bored already?"

"Hmph, maybe a lil! I'm itchin' for some excitement ya know, SCOUT!"

Taffyta snickered as she joined her friend, "Oh really? What did ya have in mind?"

The raven-haired racer rubbed her chin before giving her friend a devious grin, "Midnight race to Coconut Cove?"

"Last one there has to lick Gloyd's shoes!" Taffyta laughed, running off to her kart.

"What!? No way!" Vanellope shouted, glitching right into the driver seat of her own kart, starting the engine.

"Come on, PREEEEZ! I wanna make sure that I'm racin' with the REAL Vanellope an' not some virus copy this time!"

"Oh-HO! Challenge accepted!"

And with a burst of speed, the two racers were off, starting what was to be the beginning of a new chapter for everyone in Sugar Rush. Though the virus had attempted to break everyone apart, what it did succeed in was bringing them all together, just the way Vanellope wanted things all along.

* * *

While there was a heap of festivities happening in Litwak's arcade, that didn't mean that other arcades were not aware of the news that had happened. As they say, news travels fast and going down the cord, it travels even faster. Several hundred miles away, another arcade received the news of what had happened. The news traveled faster and faster, the story of the Sugar Rush racers' exploits hitting every game in the place.

It didn't take long for the story to reach the bar of an old beat'em up game and two of the main characters found themselves laughing over the tale, amused by what had happened.

"So ol' Litwak had another adventure, huh Billy?" chuckled the first fighter.

"Yeah! I swear that place gets ALL the excitement!" said the other the other, sipping his drink.

"Its amazin', ain't it Jimmy! A buncha kids goin' up against a virus like that! An' tha twist? It was the SAME game that had ta deal with that weird, king guy. Eh, what was his name again? King Dandy? Cavity? Oh, CANDY! King Candy!"

Jimmy shuddered as he heard the name "Yeah, I remember that guy! Just lookin' at that smirk of his gives me the CREEPS!"

A lone patron of the bar stirred when he heard the name uttered. He craned his neck a bit, trying to listen in on the conversation.

"Heh, those kids get tougher every day! Who knew that a game like Sugar Rush could take on nuts AN' Viruses, eh?"

"Viruth?" said the figure, moving a bit closer to the two fighters "Whaddya mean….VIRUTH?"

"Uh, a virus moved in an' tried to take tha data of the game! But the kids stopped 'em!"

"Yeah, it had the princess locked up but that Taffyta chick came ridin' in with some awesome army babe with a 30 FOOT GUN AN' BLASTED IT TO KINGDOM COME!"

"Aw, what I wouldn't GIVE ta see that unfold with my own eyes, bro!"

"I know right!"

"Taffyta? Vanellope?" the figure began to hiss, its eyes glowing in anger "Ya meanth ta tell me that those two actually-?!"

"Whoa, ya gonna be okay there?"

The figure slammed his glass on the counter top, breaking it into pieces as it left a nice sized dent in the wood. After a moment or two, the figure cleared its throat, pulling the cloak it wore around itself closer to its face.

"Excuth me gentlemen. While it was nicth talking to you, I have some things I need to do!"

The figure then slinked out of the bar, the cloak still held tight around its neck.

"Wow, you'd think he was actually ROOTIN' for the virus!"

Once outside, the figure slinked into the streets, ducking behind an alley.

"Even when I'M noth the one doin' tha destruction, they're STILL getting' off easy!" the figure snarled, its claw gripping into sharp fist "Buuuut….maybe…maybe this is a GOOD thing!"

The virus then made its way for another cord, tearing off the protector that shielded it. A smirk curled on its face, showing its share yellow teeth.

"I think my sabbatical is due to end sometime thoon! And I MISSTH home so much! I think I should pay it a visith! Say hello ta thum old friends!"

And with that, the figure leapt into the cord, disappearing into the night.


End file.
